Brunch at Bobby’s was on the Cooking Channel yesterday morning. I don’t know about you, but Sunday brunch is hands-down my favorite meal.
It is by its very nature a special occasion, because brunch is not something we have every day. Sunday noon is the best time to get all my family together, so it’s a relaxed, fun meal.
And it’s the perfect magic synthesis of breakfast foods, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
When we have Sunday brunch at our house, it is usually such a production that dinner that night can be something quick and light.
Anyway, Bobby Flay prepared a tomato tart that looked delicious, so I made it this morning for brunch. It was a success – everyone loved it. The tart was simple to make, and it would be delicious as a dinner item, too. I’m thinking about adding pancetta or bacon next time. I see on Amazon that Brunch at Bobby’s cookbook is being published soon.
Guess who will be pre-ordering? This girl!
Ingredients for tart dough:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 12 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into1/2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons cold water
Tart:
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 4 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices, seeds removed
- 6 ounces Camembert cheese, sliced into 1/8-inch strips
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Preparation For the dough:
- Combine the flour, butter and some salt and pepper using a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Mix in 2 tablespoons of the oil and the water just until the bottom of the mixture begins to cling together. If necessary, add an additional tablespoon of oil.
- Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Note:
I use a food processor. Just put the flour, salt, and pepper in the processor, add the cold butter pieces, and pulse a few times. Drizzle in the olive oil, pulse again, and add water very slowly until the dough just starts to come together. Turn it out onto a piece of plastic wrap at this point, shape it into a ball, wrap it up, and refrigerate. OR, use a pre-made refrigerated pie dough. You may have to roll it out on a floured surface to make it big enough to fit your tart pan.
For the tart:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll the chilled dough into a 14-inch circle and place into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Press the dough into the tart pan and then rolled my rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off the extra dough.
- Spread the mustard over the bottom of the tart shell. Sprinkle the Gruyere evenly over the mustard and alternately place the tomato and Camembert over the Gruyere.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 35 minutes.
Quick herbed olive oil:
I used extra Gruyere, and Brie in place of Camembert, because I looove Brie. Make the herbed olive oil as soon as you put the tart in the oven, so the flavors can get to know each other. I had extra oil at the end – pasta tonight!
Mix together the olive oil, basil, parsley, thyme and garlic in a small bowl. Brush two-thirds of the mixture over the tart. Remove the tart and cool briefly before serving. Serve warm with the remaining herb oil.

yum! I can’t wait to try this out post delivery and recovery! I’m hungry just looking at this 🙂