Seafood Made Simple: How to make this tomato and anchovy tart with pistachio pesto

Tomato and Anchovy tart with pistachio pesto. Picture Chani Anderson

Tomato and anchovy tart with pistachio pesto

The warm weather this summer has produced the best crop of tomatoes we’ve seen for some years. 

High temperatures and low rainfall has made for a bumper season of the ultimate summer food, which promises to continue on well into September.

This summer at Goldie we have been spoiled with fleshy San Marzano and the sweetest little golden cherry tomatoes from Singing Frog Gardens in West Cork.

Yellow submarine and kiwi tomato varieties from Churchfield Community Trust.

With purple, cinnamon, lime and Genovese basil the menu writes itself with everything that’s growing together very much going together.

Super conscious not to waste an ounce of these precious fruits, any leftovers will be preserved into chutneys, ketchups and sauces or dried and stored submerged in golden rapeseed oil and herbs.

The couple of handfuls of green tomatoes that show up might get fermented to sour or turned into Fried green tomatoes as a summer snack or garnish. Sliced thick, breadcrumbed and fried until crisp.

For the best eating experience, be sure to keep your tomatoes out of the fridge and season them appropriately.

Great sea salt is key, this summer I’ve been using two fantastic salts from Ireland; Kinsale sea salt and Dingle sea salt. Both are hand-harvested and dried by way of sun and wind. The epitome of slow food.

I’ll use anchovies as seasoning whenever I can, offering an oceanic zip as well as an umami hit that compliments sweet tomatoes beautifully. As always, I’ll choose Cantabrian anchovies from the well-managed bay of Biscay.

This weekend’s recipe is perfect for lunch, brunch or supper. Serve warm out of the oven with a simply dressed green salad or pack for the last of the summer picnics.

Tomato and anchovy tart with pistachio pesto

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This weekend’s recipe is perfect for lunch, brunch or supper. Serve warm out of the oven with a simply dressed green salad or pack for the last of the summer picnics.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the pesto:

• 100g pistachios shelled

• 50g basil leaves

• 1 clove garlic minced

• 1 lemon juiced

• 4tb rapeseed oil

• ½ tsp sea salt flakes

• For the tart:

• 1x 320g sheet of all-butter puff pastry

• 1 egg yolk

• 500g fresh tomatoes (choose a variety of shapes and sizes)

• 1 bunch basil

• 2tb golden rapeseed oil

• Sea salt

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• 12 tinned anchovies

Method

1. For the pesto:

2. Gently toast the shelled pistachios in a small pan on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes.

3. Allow to cool before placing them and the minced garlic in a food processor and pulse to form a coarse paste.

4. Scape down the sides and add the basil and lemon juice. lend again.

5. Trickle in the golden rapeseed oil whilst blending.

6. Season with sea salt and taste to correct seasoning, more lemon juice might be required.

7. Store in the fridge until serving.

8. For the tart:

9. Preheat oven to 180°C.

10. Cut the tomatoes into ¼ inch slices, if using a mix of tomatoes, slice smaller tomatoes in half. Set aside.

11. Lightly dusty a large baking sheet tray with flour.

12. Place the sheet of puff pastry on the baking sheet.

13. Using a small sharp knife make a slight incision in the puff pastry 2cm from the edge of the pastry. Continue this all around the sheet to create a border.

14. Spread two tablespoons of pistachio pesto across the base of the tart, working inside the border.

15. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the pesto using different sizes to completely cover the base of the pastry, avoiding the border.

16. Season generously with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, drizzle with rapeseed oil.

17. Lightly brush the outside border of the pastry with egg yolk and bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the tomatoes are just beginning to catch.

18. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before garnishing with a couple of blobs of pistachio pesto, anchovies and fresh basil leaves.

19. Slice and serve whilst the tart is still warm.

Chef's tips

• Swap the pistachios for walnuts, cashews or pinenuts. I also like using seeds in pestos instead of nuts, opt for sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
• You can swap the basil for parsley if you wish or use a mix of both.
• I’ve used a food processor for this pesto but you could use a handheld blender or a pestle and mortar.
• Use a combination of tomato and courgettes if you're low on tomatoes.
• Choose tomatoes that are fleshy and low in water content to ensure a crisp bottom is produced.
• Reserve the olive oil remaining from the anchovies, transfer to a small glass jar and keep refrigerated. Use to dress grilled or roasted vegetables or fish, in pasta sauces or salad dressings.