Man, I didn’t even realize it until recently but I have been in a serious cooking rut this summer. I know I’ve complained about the heat and not being hungry due to work and blah blah blah on here, but it was only this past weekend that I realized I had kind of lost my excitement and joy for cooking at home. I used to get a little jolt of glee in my stomach every time I found a new recipe to try or idea that would come up. That just hasn’t been happening the past 2 months. I blame it on spending all my creative juices at work coming up with recipes on demand and focusing so much on that. The home cook in me was exhausted. Cold cereal, yogurt, take-out… it was a lot of assembling – not cooking. But last week something changed.

I was making scrambled eggs for breakfast because I had a few extra minutes before work and realized I hadn’t done it in months. I used to love actually making breakfast every day before work when I lived in Colorado, and I just stopped doing it when I moved. So all week I made breakfast. Egg sandwiches, waffles, bagels w/cream cheese and lox. No yogurt. Cooking – not assembling. It felt so good.

And suddenly, the jolt was back. The yearning to cook and bake everything I was going to eat instead of gorging at panel at work and then snacking for dinner. I wanted to save space and make dinner. Screw my kitchen being boiling and being exhausted at the end of the day. It’ll be worth it. And this dish is worth it.

When I saw this recipe my stomach did the familiar little somersault. Perfect summer tomatoes, perfect summer herbs, all nestled in a flaky pastry dough and topped with creamy goat cheese. Pure summer and dead simple to boot. I knew I would make this and love it. And I did. I hope you do too.

—

Summer Tomato Tart

Serves 8

Based on the recipe from the fabulous David Lebovitz.

If you don’t want to make the dough from scratch, feel free to get some help from the Pillsbury Doughboy. I won’t judge you.

Ingredients:

For the tart shell:

• 1½ cups flour
• 4½ ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• Dijon mustard
• 2-3 large ripe tomatoes (or a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes), sliced
• 1 teaspoon really good extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• two generous tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, basil, and tarragon
• 8 oz. soft goat cheese (herb or plain), sliced thin (dental floss is great for this) or crumbled

Directions:

1. Make the dough by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and use your hands, or a pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture.

2. Mix the egg with 2 tablespoons of the water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten egg mixture, stirring the mixture until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add the additional tablespoon of ice water.

3. Preheat the oven to 425º F.

4. Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.

5. Once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides, roll the dough around the rolling pin then unroll it over the tart pan. “Dock” the bottom of the pastry firmly with your fingertips a few times, pressing in to make indentations.

6. Brush an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart dough and let it sit a few minutes to dry out. The amount of mustard is at your discretion – use a little or a lot, depending on how much you love it.

7. Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the mustard. Top with tomato slices in one even layer and get fancy with it if you like. Sprinkle the tomatoes generously with salt and pepper. Top tomatoes with goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

8. Bake the tart for 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is cooked, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned. Depending on the heat of your oven, if the cheese doesn’t brown as much as you’d like it, you might want to pass it under the broiler until it’s just right.