Fried Green Tomato Tart

Fried Green Tomato Tart: Tangy green garden tomatoes baked with fresh garlic, basil, and smokey cheese with the ultimate masa crust; it is a taste like none other. Brunch is served!

Fried Green Tomato Tart is a one-time-a-year happening thing here in the great Northwest and it will be another 365 days until the next round.

I neglected the garden so much the last few weeks of its life, all the while threatening to burn it to the ground, because I was done.  However, I found a few green tomatoes hanging on for dear life on the very last vines in the garden and I do LOVE fried green tomatoes.

Fresh green tomatoes from the garden!

Fried Green Tomato Tart lets the oven do the “frying” with the smattering of cheeses on top, so you get the same unique tang of green tomatoes without the work of frying them up.

Green tomatoes have a tangy taste like none other; I don’t even know what to compare them to.  You really just need to try it. They stay firm when baked (unlike a red ripe tomato) and if you close your eyes when you taste it you would have no idea it was related a tomato.  Cherry, Roma,or Beefsteak tomatoes; it doesn’t matter, they all taste the same when green!

Another great way to enjoy green tomatoes is Polynesian Deep Dish with my zippy Sunrise Sauce.  I have enough green tomatoes to do both; who said it’s not easy being green???

Fried Green Tomato Tart: Sliced and ready for cheese!

The crust is my Ultimate Corn Masa Crust (one of my favorite creations)!  It’s not a thick crust but it holds up great and the combination with the green tomatoes is perfection.

I simply used garlic & basil with a little salt & pepper for seasonings. It’s just enough to enhance the flavor without over seasoning. I did add a minced hot pepper from the garden that had ripened to red; which is totally optional. Sometimes I like a little heat, other times I don’t. Tweak it to your liking, it’s super tasty either way.

Fried Green Tomato Tart: Right before baking!

However, I do love me some dipping sauce and the marinara sauce was oh so very, very good.

Fried Green Tomato Tart: Tangy green garden tomatoes baked with fresh garlic, basil, and smokey cheese with the ultimate masa crust; it is a taste like none other. Brunch is served!

Don’t forget to save the last slice for yourself; it’s going be another year before green tomatoes come across your plate again!

Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Fried Green Tomato Tart

Tangy green garden tomatoes baked with fresh garlic, basil, and smokey cheese with the ultimate masa crust; it is a taste like none other. Brunch is served!
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Portlandia Pie Lady

Ingredients

Tart Filling

  • 1 pound (about) sliced green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded cheese – any mix of smoked cheddar, jack, queso blanco, mozzarella, provolone, Gruyรจre
  • 1 small onion, chopped (about 1 scant cup, or you can use less)
  • 1 green chili pepper or 1 jalapeno, minced (optional, only use if you want some zip)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons each thyme & basil
  • 1 prepared 10-inch tart crust Ultimate Corn Crust

Ultimate Corn Crust for 10-inch tart pan

  • 2 tablespoons corn meal
  • 1/2 cup masa harina
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter-room temp
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn (thawed)
  • 1/3 cup cold water

Instructions

Ultimate Corn Masa Crust

  • Preheat Oven to 400 F.
  • Mix dry ingredients to blend. Cut in butter until crumbly.
  • In blender or food processor pulse corn and water together for a few seconds, and stir into crumbled mixture that makes an easily pliable ball.
  • With extra masa (or flour) roll dough out to just under 10 inches, place in ceramic tart baking dish and press out to fill in edges keeping the dough fairly uniform in thickness.

Green Tomato Filling

  • Lightly saute garlic, onions, and pepper(s) of choice in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes, remove from heat.
  • Mix salt, pepper, thyme and basil together for the seasoning, set aside.
  • On prepared crust, sprinkle on 1 cup of cheese & scatter/spread the sauteed onion mixture on top.
  • Sprinkle on half of seasoning mixture.
  • Layer on the sliced green tomatoes (it's okay if some overlap).
  • Sprinkle on remaining seasoning mixture and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm alone or with marinara sauce, or honey mustard.

8 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is my favorite recipe! Iโ€™ve used it for three years now and I canโ€™t wait for the end of tomato season every year when my friends give me their green tomatoes that they canโ€™t use since I donโ€™t have a garden.
    Yesterday I didnโ€™t have the corn thatโ€™s called for in the crustโ€ฆ So I substituted Half frozen spinach and half frozen hashbrowns, and blenderized them to crumbs. It turned out so good. I also used red and green tomatoes on the top and I didnโ€™t have enough cheddar so I added Feta to the mix!!

  2. Elaine Stephenson

    5 stars
    I loved this. It looked like the picture
    I used smoked gruyere cheese along with Mexican shredded cheese and fresh basil that I grew. It was great leftover and reheated at 350 for 10 or 15 minutes. Will save this one for sure.

  3. 5 stars
    This recipe is fantastic, absolutely delicious with healthy ingredients, gluten free and no waste (no foil or parchment paper to discard, put all tomato ends and herb stalks in compost). I didn’t have the ingredients for making the crust. I did have an almond flour gluten free tortilla, so I put some olive oil, cornmeal polenta with it in the bottom of the casserole dish and oven toasted it until it was sort of crust like while I prepared the other ingredients.

    I was so so glad to find this yummy recipe so I could use all those green yellow and barely red tomatoes we rescued from the neighbor’s garden hours before frost came!

  4. Hi,
    If I was going to make this ahead of the time to take to someone’s house. What is your recommendation. Should I put it all together and put it in the fridge then bake it at their house? Or bake it and then reheat at the house? I don’t want to ruin it by putting it in the fridge and making the tomatoes mealy.

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