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!

A Tip and a Tool for Friday

This post is the first in a series that highlights useful kitchen tools and efficient cooking and baking tips; when possible, these tools and tips will emerge from the week's round of recipes.

A TIP  Use a teaspoon to scrape the skin off of fresh ginger; not only is this method faster than using a knife, you will sacrifice less ginger to the process.  And you get bonus points for throwing the ginger peels into a freezer bag in which you store veggie scraps for making stock!

A TOOL  If you do any baking at all that requires a rolling pin, this Silicone Rolling Mat from King Arthur's catalogue really cannot be beat: it provides an instant clean surface wherever you place it, its concentric circles allow you to roll out your naan, tortillas, and French Tomato Tart crust with ease, and if you need to roll dough for pretzels, challah, or Swedish Lucy Buns to a certain length, the sides are ruled, too.