Paul's Pie: Deconstructed BLT Tart

Deconstructed BLT Tart

Paul wanted a bacon crust. 

"Do you want bacon in the crust?" I asked.

"No," he answered.  "I want a crust that IS bacon."

I happily googled "bacon crust recipe" and discovered this very promising recipe.

"How about this?" I asked.

"No," Paul said.  "I want crust AND bacon crust."


Well!  I do like a culinary conundrum, but folks who know me know that I cook more comfortably from recipes.  Still, I wanted to satisfy Paul's quest for pie.  Since it's already June and a crust + bacon crust seems pretty heavy to me, I decided to fill the crust with seasonable vegetables rather than something quiche-like--and backing away from bacon and eggs led me to the BLT, which always tastes best with summer tomatoes.

What follows is my first effort to make a seasonal version of Paul's Pie, which cobbles together the recipe above and vamps on David Lebovitz's French Tomato Tart recipe, which I've made several times with stupendous results.  The bacon comes from Godfrey Bros. Meats, the arugula from my Sterling Farm CSA share on the advice of Jonathan Darby, and the tomatoes from Brogue Hydroponics, who manage to grow delicious tomatoes in early June!  The spinach and oregano were from my tiny shady garden.

Side view of a slice.

This recipe, like many, is pretty easy but takes both time and patience--and you have to trust your own cooking judgment, which I know from personal experience can be hard.  I'm sure you could use a store-bought pie crust instead of making your own tart or pie crust, but I encourage you to make your own.  Crusts are very easy to make, and the recipe below has always worked for me AND is big enough for the 10" spring-form pan.  I've taken lots of photos to guide the beginner.  Humidity really affects baking, since the more water there is in the air, the less you need to add to your recipe.  When I made this, it was so humid that 2 Tablespoons of water was almost too much!


Deconstructed BLT Tart
I used a cast-iron skillet, which to my thinking is the best receptacle for cooking the bacon crust.  If you don't have one, you should get one, but in the meantime, use something oven-safe.  Also, you might be tempted to add cheese to this, especially when you see how beautifully browned the cheese on David Lebovitz's tart is.  Resist, resist, resist!  Do not gild this lily without tasting it this way first.  I do admit, though, that the idea of adding goat cheese so that I can make a LGBT tart is very tempting.  La!  Of course, my OCD is delighted that the BLT are layered in that order into the pan.  :)

Serves 8-10, takes 2-3 hours to make

For the Bacon Crust (adapted from Savory Reviews)
2 lbs bacon
Parchment paper
32 oz. dried beans
10" iron skillet

Pan filled with bacon.

1) Preheat oven to 375˚F. Starting from the center and working to the edges, line up strips of bacon to leave no gaps.  Then use strips to line edges.  (Note: My bacon was thicker cut yet skinnier than the original poster's, and I ended up using 1.75 pounds.  I wish I had thrown up an extra slice to take care of gaps, so consider doing that yourself.)



Line filled pan with parchment, making sure you press it (and the bacon) into the bottom and sides, and then fill the parchment with dried beans.  The beans anchor the bacon in place while it cooks, so do not be stingy!

Cooked bacon crust.

2) Cook in preheated oven 30-40 minutes (I did 40, since my bacon was thicker).  You want it to be crisp to avoid a rubbery texture.  When you think it's cooked, carefully scoop the beans out into a bowl (and save them to use again as crust weights, since they have no other use now, as far as I know), and then carefully pull the parchment from the bacon.  If it still looks raw (mine did!), stick it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.  **This is where placing an extra strip or two of bacon helps, since my crust shrank a tiny bit when I did this.  Start making tart crust now.  When the bacon crust is cool enough, use paper towels to mop up extra grease while gently pressing the bacon into the right shape.

Note: You can make the tart in this crust alone.  :)

For the Tart (adapted from David Lebovitz)
1.5 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
4.5 oz. (125 g) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
2-3 Tbs iced water
10" spring-form pan

Dijon or whole grain mustard (I use Trader Joe's dijon mustard)
Fresh arugula, spinach, or both
2-3 large ripe tomatoes (get the cluster ones at the store if you cannot get market fresh)
2 Tbl olive oil
2 generous tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (other fresh herbs: okay)
freshly ground pepper

Shaggy, crumbly dough.

1) Mix the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl.  Add the chilled butter, and with your hands, two knives, or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until the mixture has a shaggy, crumbly, cornmeal-type texture.

Note: Unless your hands are hot enough to melt the butter, use your fingertips and work fast, making sure you regularly scoop the flour over the butter to make sure you're working it all in together.  Like kneading dough, working with your hands is faster and more satisfying.

Using your hands, make a well in the center of the flour mix.

Filled well.

2) With a fork, whip the egg with 2 tablespoons of iced water till combined.  Pour this mixture into the well, and mix just until the dough holds together.  If it doesn't come together easily, add the additional tablespoon of water.

Note: I like to use my KAF Dough Whisk for combining yeasted doughs and pie and tart crusts, but you can use a fork or a wooden spoon.  The point is not to over-combine.  As with biscuit dough, working it too much will cause gluten development and toughen your dough.

Crust ready for pan.

3)  Lightly flour a clean surface.  Gather the dough into a ball and place it on the floured surface, sprinkling it with flour, too.  Roll it out to about a 14" circle, flipping it and adding a light sprinkle of flour from time to time to keep it from sticking (just don't add too much).  David says you can roll it round your rolling pin, but I've never found that to be the case.  Instead, I gently use a bench knife to separate the dough from the surface to fold it about in half, place the crust receptacle in very close proximity, and lift the crust into the pan.

Note: I lovelovelove my KAF Rolling Mat for all rolling projects since it creates an instant clean surface, but it is *especially* good for projects that require inch measurements.  I also love my Flour Wand for the controlled sprinkling it allows (I bought mine in Sweden--my favorite things to buy when abroad are small kitchen tools).

Crust smeared with dijon.

4) After placing the dough in pan, dock it firmly into the bottom and edges with your fingers, leaving impressions.  Fix any holes or tears as you do this.  Then comes the tricky part: the dough will stick to the vertical sides of the pan only reluctantly.  I found that it was more likely to stay up if I rolled the higher parts down a bit and docked them firmly into the sides.  Anyway, you will need to play around a little here, but you'll get it to where it's staying, never fear!

Preheat the oven to 425˚F.

Success!

5)    When the crust is firmly in place, slather on a nice layer of mustard, and let it dry for about five minutes.

Next, carefully place the bacon crust into the tart crust: Using a cooking spatula, make sure the crust isn't stuck to the skillet anywhere.  Then lever the crust out of the skillet, making sure to leave as much grease as possible behind.  This was my proudest moment, since the cooled bacon crust held together beautifully!  Gently rearrange any slices to fill gaps as best you can.

Then add arugula and/or spinach to taste, though use enough to cover the bottom.  I tasted the arugula and worried that it was too strong by itself, so I added some spinach.  I honestly think that combining the two is ideal, though I now know I could have stuck with just arugula.

Oven-ready tart.

6)  Finally, add the sliced tomatoes in a single, even layer.  Drizzle the olive oil over the top.  Grind as much fresh pepper over all of this as your wee heart desires, and sprinkle the fresh oregano over, too.  Stand back to marvel at your lovely creation!

7) Bake the tart for 30 minutes or so, or until the dough is browned and the tomatoes look roasted and tender.  This is a hot oven for baking a tart crust, so check the tart midway through to see if the tart is browning too fast, turning the oven down if necessary.

8) You can eat the tart hot, but it's better if you let it cool completely.  When it's cooled, remove first the outer ring and then gently prise the tart from the pan bottom.  Cut with a careful hand and very sharp knife, and enjoy!

I got someone to make a piggy face in the O of bacon, the final touch!