It feels like that window is rather fleeting, so when the time comes, usually at the very end of summer, I like to eat them at every possible chance.
On toast with butter for breakfast, roasted for pasta sauces and, of course, in many, many salads. I also cannot resist making some pastry (in the cool of the day) and turning summer’s bounty into this glorious tomato and olive tart. I grow marjoram at home, as it is admittedly a little hard to come across sometimes. Oregano is a fine alternative.
Ingredients
500 g cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons pitted black olives, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons marjoram leaves, plus extra to serve
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
1 egg, for egg wash
ricotta salata, to serve
Flaky pastry
250 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
pinch of sea salt
125 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 tablespoon white vinegar
100–125 ml iced water
Method
To make the flaky pastry, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry cutter. You want to rub the butter into flatter pieces rather than into something that resembles breadcrumbs.
Don’t work the mixture too much as you want it to still be pebbly. Drizzle in the vinegar and sprinkle over enough iced water to just bring the dough together. It will still be shaggy and should just hold together when pressed. If there are still dry or floury spots, sprinkle over a little extra water.
Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a 30 cm round baking tray with baking paper.
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to make it easier to roll. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a large circle, about 3–4 mm thick, massaging the edges as you roll to prevent it from cracking too much. Drape the pastry over the prepared tray.
Combine the tomato, olives, marjoram, garlic and olive oil in a large bowl and season with salt. Spoon the mixture onto the pastry, leaving a 4–5 cm border. Fold the pastry edges over the tomato mixture to form a galette. Pinch the edges at the folds where they meet, to seal.
Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon of water and brush it over the pastry, then transfer to the oven and bake for 40–45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the tomatoes are beginning to blister and colour. Allow to cool completely, then grate over some ricotta salata and serve.
Recipe from Around the Table by Julia Busuttil Nishimura (published by Plum)
As part of
