Potato, Tomato, Ham and Cheese Tart (photos)

A nice evening meal. We keep things lite when we do this. You can leave out the meat if you like, or add bacon to jazz things up.

This post is as much about the crust as the finished tart, but the finished product is tasty and you would like it.

Making the crust - this one has the consistency and mouth feel I like in a tart or pie crust. Learning this recipe will make you a better pastry chef. It uses vodka, which evaporates in the oven, eliminating some of the wetness leaving a crumbly, more flakey, crust. You need a food processor to make this crust and everything needs to be cold to leave the bits of fat intact to make the crust flakey and tender. Yes, this is cheap vodka. If you ever come to my house I would give you better vodka to drink but the crust would be made with this.



2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices.
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup cold vodka

Add the flour, salt, sugar to the blender and pulse a few times to mix well. The add the fat.



Pulse a few times until crumbles form. Be careful to not mix past the point shown here.



Transfer to a bowl:



And add cold liquids. Mix as little as possible.



Divide into two portions - this will make two crusts.



Transfer each half to a piece of plastic wrap



Form a small cake, wrap and chill for a half hour or more.



I used a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, 1 medium sliced russet potato, a half cup of chopped ham, half cup of sharp cheddar cheese, a Tablespoon of onion, a beaten egg, a diced small tomato, salt and pepper. Press one of the pie dough portions into the pan, making sure to conform it to the fluted sides.

The potato is placed as the bottom layer. season this layer with salt and pepper. Then add the onion, ham, cheese, egg and tomato. I finish with a little pepper over the top because I like black pepper. Bake at 350 degrees until done - About 40 minutes.

Here it is from the oven and removed from the fluted pan.



ready to eat







Here is the pan, since I never showed it.