SAVOURY SEPTEMBER
Put garden-fresh tomatoes to work
I make a lot of recipes. With the vast majority, even if I love them, I quickly forget them as I go on to try the next new thing.
But, like most cooks, I have a stable of standards, old favourites without which the season just doesn’t seem complete: rhubarb-streusel muffins in May, fresh basil pesto at the height of summer, and this tomato “pizza” in September. (I think it’s more of a flatbread than a pizza, but pizza it was called when first published, in a book called Gourmet’s Weekends.)
It’s a highly adaptable recipe. You can alternate rows of different colours of tomatoes for a dramatic look, or vary the types of cheese and herbs for twists on the flavour.
I’ve taken it to parties, cut into smallish squares and offered as an appetizer — served hot and fragrant, it’s always a crowd-pleaser. You could serve it for brunch or lunch, and it also makes an excellent late-summer supper, cut into large slabs and served with a green salad on the side.
The layered phyllo crust is a bit more finicky to prepare than one from standard pizza dough, but it will reward you with its crispy, flaky, cheesy deliciousness.
TOMATO PHYLLO PIZZA
Makes: 20 appetizer or 6 maincourse servings
Preparation time: about an hour (includes 30 to 35 minutes of baking time)
Fourteen 17- by 12-inch (43- by 30-cm) sheets phyllo, stacked between 2 sheets of wax paper and covered with a damp kitchen towel
½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, melted and kept warm
14 tbsp (210 mL or a little less than a cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 oz/86 g)
2 cups (500 mL) coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 8 oz/226 g)
2 cups (500 mL) very thinly sliced onion
4 lb (1.8 kg) ripe tomatoes (about 8), cut into ¼-inch (6mm) thick slices
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano, crumbled
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh thyme leaves or
½ tsp (2.5 mL) dried thyme, crumbled Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish (optional) 1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Lightly butter 2 baking sheets. 2. On first prepared baking sheet, arrange 1 sheet of phyllo and brush lightly with some butter. Sprinkle phyllo with 1 tbsp (15 mL) Parmesan and arrange another phyllo sheet on top, pressing firmly so that it adheres to the bottom layer. Butter, sprinkle and layer 5 more phyllo sheets in the same manner, ending with phyllo. Sprinkle top phyllo sheet with half of the mozzarella, and scatter half of onion evenly on top.
3. Arrange half of the tomato slices in 1 layer over onion. Sprinkle pizza with 1 tbsp (15 mL) Parmesan, ½ tsp (2.5 mL) oregano, 1 tsp (5 mL) fresh or ¼ tsp (1 mL) dried thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. On second prepared baking sheet, make a second pizza in the same manner with remaining ingredients.
5. Bake pizzas in middle and lower third of oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until edges are golden, switching position of sheets in oven halfway through baking. Arrange thyme sprigs along edges of pizzas as garnish. With a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each pizza into six squares.