A few Saturdays ago was such a great cooking day which I really needed after a horrible Friday of failed recipes (the worst of which was coconut egg custard that turned into scrambled eggs!)! My college group had a potluck at our place for going away party for one of our close friends and I made this roasted tomato & ricotta crostata, Asian noodle salad, and chocolate pudding cake (yes kind of a hodgepodge since we didn’t have a theme), all which I think turned out great! For breakfast I even made the coconut egg custard again (kaya) and got a nice smooth custard 🙂

But why am I even going on about other recipes when this post is about this AMAZING roasted tomato & ricotta crostata I found on Shake and Bake. What a fun blog by the way. The roasted tomato & ricotta crostata (it rhymes) uses the Tartine quiche crust which may have actually changed my life. I was taught at a very early age to make pie crust (thank you Mom!), but this recipe makes it a little simpler by using a food processor and also surprised me by being very tender and flaky even though it uses only butter. I’ll definitely try it again with a quiche.

For the ricotta and cheese mixture, I only used ricotta and feta and then lightly shaved aged gouda (since we had some gouda and no parmesan) over the top. Totally forgot to add the nutmeg and garlic powder and didn’t miss either. It’s the crust and ricotta and delightfully caramely tomatoes that are the star of this dish. One thing to note is I had the ricotta mixture made up on the counter ahead of time and since it wasn’t super cold it spread out a lot on the crust. I would either make it up right before filling the crust or keep it in the fridge. At the end of the day it didn’t really matter but it was harder to keep it contained in the crust.

One more note, everyone kept referring to the crostata as a pizza which I thought was funny. I kept saying “it is a CROSTATA!” as if I had ever known what one was before. But it is definitely more like a savory “pie” than a “pizza”. I think this would be great for a dinner party with just the crostata and a big green salad.

 

Tartine’s Flaky Crust (1/2 recipe)
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons butter

1. Add salt to water and put in the freezer for 15 minutes. Measure flour into a bowl and put in the freezer for the same amount of time. Put the butter in the freezer too!
2. Throw the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into little pats and add the food processor. Pulse for 10-15 times; the butter should be about the size of peas. Turn the food processor to on and slowly drizzle in the water. Watch carefully and once the dough starts to clump around the blade, turn it off. Dump out, form into a ball and put in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. 

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
5 roma tomatoes thickly sliced
Olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Pinch sugar

• Lay tomatoes on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, fresh ground pepper and a pinch of sugar. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Roasted Tomato & Ricotta Crostata
15 ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
A good few rounds of coarse fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
Handful of fresh herbs chopped (I had basil, original recipe had chives, rosemary and parsley, I think fresh thyme and oregano would be great too)
Tartine’s flaky crust
Oven roasted tomatoes

1. Mix the ricotta, feta, sour cream, eggs, ground pepper, salt and fresh herbs together. If you’re worried about the raw eggs, add them after checking the salt. Refrigerate to keep the mixture semi-firm if you aren’t filling the crust yet.
2. On a floured surface roll out your dough into a big circle. Fold in fourths and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Unfold and add the ricotta mixture leaving a 3 inch circle around the edge. Fold up the edges over the ricotta mixture and pinch where the folds meet so the mixture doesn’t fall out when cooking.
3. Bake for 35-45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. The crust should be browned and the ricotta firm to the touch. The ricotta will have poofed up a lot, but it settles down as it cools. Let cool and cut into wedges.