Breakfast Cheese Tart

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a 9 inch by 1 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Spray well with cooking spray or grease generously. Press pastry to fit into pan. Trim smoothly about 1 inch beyond edge of pan, then fold back over edge and crimp to make attractive and sturdy fluted edge. Line pan with aluminum foil that you have sprayed with cooking spray on both sides, then place an 8 or 9 inch glass pie pan inside foil. (Pie pan should reach bottom of tart pan, and extend above fluted edge of pastry.) Turn assembly upside down on cookie sheet, and bake for 9 minutes. Remove pan from oven, turn over and remove pie plate and foil. (If you prefer, you can use pie weights, beans or rice and bake right side up.) Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. In blender or work bowl of food processor, combine Jarlsberg, ricotta, eggs, onion, garlic and pepper. Whirl until smooth and well blended. Pour evenly into baked shell,. Place pan on cookie sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until filling is partially set. Meanwhile, drain tomato slices on paper towels. Remove tart from oven. Arrange tomato slices on top around the edge. Return to oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Brush tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh herbs. Let stand 20 minutes. Remove tart pan sides by pressing upward on removable bottom. Place on round platter, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve.. . Variation: Use thinly sliced green or red bell peppers instead of tomatoes. Sprinkle with chopped dry sun dried tomatoes (not the kind packed in oil), chives and parsley. MC formatting by bobbi744@sojourn.com NOTES : The next dish is of French lineage with a California twist. I decided that there were plenty of recipes for Quiche Lorraine out there , in almost any general cookbook you might own, so I decided not to do a basic quiche. Instead, this breakfast tart, with its quichelike filling, came to mind as an interesting variation. I usually use a pate brisee made with half shortening and half butter, or with all butter flavored Crisco when I make this dish, The butter gives great flavor; the Crisco makes it flakier. In general, for the flakiest crust, use lard. Next flakiest is Crisco, the most flavorful is butter. I see no reason to use margarine for a pastry shell, and have never seen a satisfactory crust made with oil (No flakiness at all!) I got this recipe in California, so it always makes me think of perfect weather! This makes a nice looking dish for a brunch on New Years day, or any time you have house guests in the summer. Although it is better warm, the late riser can eat the Recipe by: Rosilyn Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #809 by Roberta Banghart <bobbi744@sojourn.com> on Sep 26, 1997