Make Ahead

Parmesan tart with Caesar salad topping

October  4, 2022
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 3-4
Author Notes

This recipe is inspired by seeing some photos of a savory tart topped with mixed greens and thinking, "gosh, I bet Caesar salad would be good on a tart!". And it is - it's quickly becoming a warm weather go to meal, in fact! The crust is like a big crouton around the outside, and the silky parmesan filling is a lovely contrast to the crisp salad. The dressing is a fairly standard rendition of a Caesar dressing, I think, except I use mayo instead of eggs (more because I love the tang of mayo than that I have a problem with undercooked eggs). When making this for myself I use greens because I don't love romaine lettuce, but I've called for romaine in the recipe to stay true to the Caesar salad name. —fiveandspice

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • tart crust and Parmesan custard filling
  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into pieces
  • 2-3 tablespoons cold water
  • 2/3 cup cream or half and half
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard
  • 1 small handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves
  • a sprinling of salt and pepper
  • Caesar salad topping
  • 1 oil packed anchovy fillet, chopped and smashed
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh Parmesan
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • The juice from one half of a large lemon
  • 2 tablespoons good mayonnaise
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard (preferably Dijon)
  • 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 1 small head romaine lettuce, ribs removed, chopped small
Directions
  1. tart crust and Parmesan custard filling
  2. In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter pieces with a pastry cutter, or rub in butter with your fingers until it forms a crumbly mixture (this can also be done in a food processor, if you’re lucky enough to have one!).
  3. Add in just enough water so that the mixture comes together and you can form it into a ball. Pat the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
  4. On a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of wax paper (my preferred method, though it’s a little wasteful), roll out the dough to fit a 9 inch tart pan, or rectangular tart pan (it can also go into a loaf pan, I discovered). Grease your pan and transfer the tart dough into it, trimming the edges.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the pan on a baking sheet, line the dough with tinfoil/parchment paper and weight it with dried beans. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the foil and beans.
  6. Whisk together the remaining tart ingredients, except the tomatoes, and pour into the shell. Sprinkle the tomatoes on top. Bake until the filling is set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then carefully remove from pan. And top with Caesar salad.
  1. Caesar salad topping
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the smashed anchovy through the Worcestershire sauce. The pour the olive oil in a stream into the bowl, whisking to incorporate.
  3. In a salad bowl, toss as much of the dressing as suites your taste with the chopped romaine. Pile the lettuce onto the Parmesan tart (not all of the greens may fit, you can serve the rest on the side). Carefully slice and serve with a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.
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  • fiveandspice
    fiveandspice
  • dymnyno
    dymnyno
  • lapadia
    lapadia
  • sticksnscones
    sticksnscones

5 Reviews

sticksnscones May 25, 2010
I tested this recipe today and served it for lunch to some hungry young adults. It was served slightly warm with the cool salad on top. I have always loved pizza topped with salad and found that this provided a similar experience. We all really enjoyed it and would certainly make it again.

Some comments on the recipe:
- I needed more water than specified for the crust, more like 6 Tablespoons. I realize that the amount needed can vary given climate, humidity, etc.
- The amount of filling seemed scant for the size of the tart. Luckily when we topped it with the salad it looked more substantial. I would increase the amount of filling next time.
- The flavor of the tart was nice & subtle and the texture was rich & creamy. I thought it would be bland but the salad and the dressing gave it the punch it needed. If the filling was too strong it would compete with the salad component.
Nice recipe
 
fiveandspice May 26, 2010
Thanks for testing it, sticksnscones. I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for the comments! I'm amazed how much variation the climate can cause in the amount of water needed for crust, wow! Also, it's good to know that you would have liked it with more filling. I kept it low to make room for piling the salad on top, but I think the effect of having a thicker custard layer would be really delicious. I think I'll try that myself :).
 
fiveandspice May 14, 2010
Thank you, thank you! And yes, I definitely think that all sorts of salads could be put on top of a tart. Fun stuff to explore!
 
dymnyno May 14, 2010
Very unique and creative!
 
lapadia May 12, 2010
I like this salad on the tart idea, and other salad ideas come to mind as well. Thanks for sharing this.