Tomato Tart with Parmesan & Basil {Naptime Entertaining}

Last week I had less than half an hour to whip up a simple summer treat for a last minute dinner party. With some fresh tomatoes, my ever-present stash of Parmesan, and a tuft of fresh basil in the herb pot I decided to make my favorite Tomato Tart with Parmesan and Basil. Coincidentally, my dear friend Liz the Chef had just emailed me from San Diego to say she was enjoying her latest version of this tart. We both became addicted to it last summer when I first wrote about it on Babble. It seems with tomato season in full swing we both had this light summer dish on the brain!

The endless appeal of this tart is how flexible the ingredients are and how it can be prepped for the oven in literally five minutes flat. Last year I made it with tomatoes and thyme, but since then I’ve tried all kinds of combinations like tomato/goat cheese/oregano, tomato/blue cheese/walnuts, and this one with parmesan and basil. The key is to add just the right amount of flavoring so that they shine through without weighing down the pastry. For entertaining I like to cut it up into little squares with my pizza cutter. When it is just my family take a less elegant approach and eat it in large triangles like pizza!