Quiche Greque

Candy sweet roasted golden tomatoes, savory thyme, 

and earthy cornmeal do all the work.

One of the best things about Greece is the summer outdoor cinema, at which I saw one of the worst movies I have ever seen. However, the movie did feature some surprisingly nice paintings by the actress who was playing the role of the painter. Apart from that, the movie was so dreadful it cried out for an antidote- I went into the kitchen the next morning and saw these beautiful bright gold pear-shaped tomatoes. That vibrant color could only put one in the mind of van Gogh- at least it did me- and to keep that bright mood of yellow going I got out the cornmeal, and so- a rich gold tomato tart, made with things just laying around the kitchen.

First the shell-

A dough that pushes into the pan saves the step of first chilling, then rolling, then cleaning the counter, then chilling again. This press-in dough is very agreeable:

125 g/1 stick butter

130 g/1 C flour

2 Tablespoons cornmeal

a half teaspoon of salt

1 egg

Process everything but the egg until it looks like very coarse crumbs, then add the egg and pulse again. That small amount of cornmeal lends ample rich color and flavor. It could be tempting to add even more cornmeal for extra color and crunch but it is very absorbent and the crust could end up dry and even crack if you over-do it (as I have in the past.) Press the crust into a quiche dish- a large shallow dish with fluted sides if you have one- or use a tart pan. The important part: now put it in the freezer as you assemble the other ingredients. If it goes frozen into the hot oven, the sides will not schlump down. It freezes quickly.

Ready for the freezer,
and not a speck of flour to wipe from the counter.

While the crust is freezing, the oven is heating. We can use that heat to roast the tomatoes a bit- get rid of some moisture and concentrate their flavor. In keeping with the Arles mood, I tossed a handful of fresh thyme leaves over the tomatoes, along with some olive oil and sea salt:

The thyme will crisp up a bit in the oven and become very fragrant.

We can strew a handful of thinly sliced onions over them to save the trouble of sauteing them (and save us washing the saute pan also.)

Let the tomatoes get a brief head-start like these did-
then the onions will have less chance to burn.

While that's in the oven, check to see if the crust is frozen and as soon as it is, put that in as well to pre-bake a bit. Then assemble the rest:

200 g/7 oz feta cheese

200 g/scant cup plain yogurt- either strained or regular, depending on how dense you want the filling to be. If you use strained, it will be the consistency of a cheesecake- quite rich.

2 eggs

One

Two

Three.

When the crust is looking half-baked- dry-ish but no extra color- remove it, and hopefully the vegetables at the same time. Mix the yogurt and eggs and cheese and fill the shell. Then cover with the vegetables,

Browned but not blackened,
 resting on sweet thick pan juices.

making sure to scrape in all their rich syrup. Press some of it down around into the feta/yogurt filling, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the filling sets a bit and takes on some color. What with yogurt being sour and already quite thick, this is somehow less finicky than a traditional quiche custard- not apt to be either too soft or at all rubbery.

This is delicious hot or cold, and screams for wine.