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Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart

Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust by Baking The Goods
Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust by Baking The Goods

Pimento cheese? Do you love it? Do you hate it? It's one of those things that you either proudly devour or can't get behind. Unless of course you're a secret pimento cheese fan. Come to find out, there are a lot of you out there, hiding behind the Ritz crackers on the snack table. This Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart will convert even the most hardcore pâté of the south haters into double dipping pimento cheese connoisseurs.

If you're a tomato fiend like me check out my BLT Galette with Pecorino Crust, Tomato Confit & Burrata Crostini, Cacio e Pepe with Cherry Tomatoes or my super summery fan fave my Heirloom Tomato & Grilled Corn Galettes with Cheddar Crust. And if you like spicy, sweet and devilishly addicting flavors, I suggest making this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart while the tomatoes are ripe!

This Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart was inspired by a trip to the southern states

While I've had plenty of Pimento Cheese served as a dip or spread on a sandwich over the years, it was always infrequent. But a few trips to the South stuffed my inspiration suitcase with pimento cheese dreams. This was the first time I really had a chance to taste pimento cheese with intention and compare and contrast many variations.

Some versions were creamier, spicier or tangier than others. Then there were others that felt unbalanced with copious amounts of globby mayo. Since I'm personally not big on mayonnaise, I made a few modifications to my interpretation of the famous dip and slightly altered the filling in this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart.

The tart is filled with a savory & delectable Pimento Cheese filling

There is a simple mix of creamy, cheesy, tangy, fresh and spiced ingredients happening in the filling of this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart. It's like a lightened up version of a classic Pimento Cheese Dip that snuggles right into a cornmeal crust tart shell.

Pimento Cheese Tart Filling Ingredients

  • Cream Cheese gives the pimento cheese filling body and structure while providing a creamy and indulgent backbone to the rest of the ingredients.
  • Greek Yogurt replaces the mayonnaise in this version of pimento cheese, offering a lighter and fresher tart filling. The yogurt blends in with the cream cheese for a luscious and smooth filling base. If mayo is calling to your heart, feel free to make the swap for yourself.
  • Sharp Cheddar Cheese is freshly grated and mixed into the smooth cream cheese and yogurt base, adding a sharp and deeply cheesy flavor. Tillamook Sharp Cheddar is always a solid choice here.
  • Jarred Pimento Peppers are diced and added into the mix. Pimento peppers give the pimento cheese tart it's signature tangy, sweet and mildly spiced essence.
  • Freshly Chopped Chives add an herby freshness to the pimento cheese tart filling, a much needed hit of grassy herby flavor if you ask me.
  • Black Pepper, preferably freshly cracked, adds warmth and dimension.
  • Smoked Paprika brings depth in flavor and a mild smokiness to the filling. Plain paprika works too if you don't have smoked.
  • Hot Sauce, just a few dashes warms up the filling with bold complexity. I prefer using a vinegary hot sauce here. Something with a tangy and vinegar forward punch and some nice lingering heat, like Louisiana Hot Sauce or Crystal Hot Sauce.
Pimento cheese ingredients for Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust-26
A simple mix of ingredients makes up the pimento cheese tart filling.
Pimento Cheese Tart filling
Just blend it all together.
Pimento Cheese Tart filling
And you end up with a colorful tart filling or an easy and tasty Pimento Cheese Dip!

The goal was to keep the filling light and creamy in this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart and we do so by blending the cream cheese and yogurt together in the base. Since this is served as a sliced tart and not a dip for crackers, the ingredients and flavors needed to be balanced.

The filling is all blended together into a smooth spread that's almost as crave-able alone as it is in this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart. However, the super savory shell is buttery and warmly peppered with a crisp cornmeal crust that's even in both flavor and texture.

A Peppery Cornmeal Crust serves as the base for this savory Pimento Cheese Tart

Sure, we could have used a classic Savory Tart Dough recipe to hold this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart but the idea of a cornmeal crust just seemed all too appropriate for the occasion. Cornmeal and tomatoes are such a great team and all of that paired with pimento cheese is a triple threat of southern flavors.

Black Pepper Cornmeal Crust Ingredients

  • Unsalted Butter adds rich flavor and gives the tart shell it's crisp crust when baked.
  • All Purpose Flour builds up the base of the tart dough, giving it structure and pliability.
  • Cornmeal incorporates a unique nutty flavor and gentle grit to the tart shell. Use either a fine ground or medium ground cornmeal. I find Bob's Red Mill Cornmeal to be a reliable and flavorful choice. Since the Bob's brand leaves the germ and bran in, the stone ground cornmeal is even tastier and more nutritious than other brands!
  • Fine Sea Salt elevates the other flavors, rounding out the richness of the butter and nuttiness of the cornmeal.
  • Black Pepper, freshly cracked from the grinder adds a speckle of savoriness and peppery warmth the the textural cornmeal crust.
  • Ice Cold Vodka hydrates the tart dough and helps contribute to the flaky and tender texture as it the tart shell bakes. The alcohol evaporates faster than water, creating air pockets that puff up and evaporate quickly in the oven, making for an ultra tender crust. Use ice cold water if you don't have vodka.
  • Olive Oil brings in another layer or richness and dimension, helping to bind and flavor the Black Pepper Cornmeal Crust of the Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart.
Black Pepper Cornmeal Crust ingredients
The simple press in crust is made with simple ingredients - flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, ice cold vodka and olive oil. So easy.
Mixing Black Pepper Cornmeal Crust
Once mixed together, the crust dough should still be rough and crumbly. The olive oil and ice cold vodka help to hydrate the dough just enough.
Press in Black Pepper Cornmeal Crust
The press in crust is very easy to make and incredibly forgiving thanks to it's rustic nature.
Blind baking the Black Pepper Cornmeal Crust
Use beans or rice as pie weights to keep the dough from puffing up while blind baking the savory tart shell.

While I've only been to the south a handful of times, the culinary experiences left a lasting impression on me and my tomato loving heart. Each trip, I enjoyed more fried green tomatoes than the rest of my life combined and if I saw Pimento Cheese on the menu, you better believe I was ordering it. Tomatoes and pimento cheese just make sense together and this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart is a sensible and delicious combo.

Tomatoes crown the tart in a seasonal halo

This Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart with a peppery cornmeal crust was highly influenced by my culinary explorations of the south. The crumbly cornmeal crust filled with the sweet heat of the creamy pimento cheese filling proudly welcome the juicy tomatoes with the utmost southern hospitality. 

If I'm being honest, the shell and pimento cheese filling are really just a stage to entertain the real star of the show - the plump and juicy heirloom tomatoes. Every August means there is an abundance of the sun filled golden globes. I end up eating whole tomatoes like apples and cherry tomatoes like candy. Not to downplay the crust and filling in this drool inducing Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart but tomatoes always take center stage in my eyes.

Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes top the tart with freshness

The mix of tomato types tip the savory scales of the tart towards naturally sweet and slightly acidic. The acid of those heirloom tomatoes cuts straight through the creamy, cheesy fat flavors of the filling. While the candy sweet cherry tomatoes brighten the savory sensations in natural sweetness. Like the cherry tomato on top for a perfectly balanced finish.

Tomatoes for Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust
Is there anything more beautiful than a bounty of summery, garden fresh tomatoes?
Sliced tomatoes drawing out moisture
Draw out the moisture of the tomatoes before putting them on the top of the tart helps keep the layers fresh and stable.

Hot Tip: Place the sliced heirloom tomatoes on a paper towel lined baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with sea salt to draw the moisture out of the tomatoes before putting them on the top of the tart.

In a grand gesture of freshness with a solid salute to tomato season, this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart layers in both heirloom and cherry tomatoes. There are no real rules in presentation here. I like to first shingle big fat slices of colorful heirloom tomatoes atop the chilled and set pimento cheese filling. Then dot the whole cherry tomatoes across the top for a pretty presentation.

Layering the Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust
Layer the sliced tomatoes in a shingled pattern on top of the filled and chilled tart.
Adding cherry tomatoes to Pimento Cheese Tart
Then add those cherry tomatoes to the top, sprinkle on the chives, drizzle in olive oil and shower that with another crack of pepper!

Just before serving, the whole Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart is drizzled in a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with fresh snipped chives and one final aggressive crack or two of fresh ground pepper.

Even if you can't make the trip to the south, this savory tart will hit on that big bold, southern style in a color filled display of freshness and flavor. Making this Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart will transport your spirit and satisfy all kinds of deep southern savory cravings.

Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust from Baking The Goods
There is so much savory goodness happening in the tomato bejeweled Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust.
Table set with Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust
Don't you just want to pull up that stool and dive into this Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust immediately?
Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust - slice
I saved you a slice of Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust.
Sliced Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust-3
A slice of this Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust is a savory vacation to the south.

More tasty tomato recipes from Baking The Goods

And for all of the tomato inspiration you could ever need and then some, check out the long list of tomato focused recipes compiled by a bunch of talented food folks from bloggers to chefs and stylists to photographers listed at the bottom of this post!

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Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust by Baking The Goods

Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart

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Description

This super savory Heirloom Tomato Pimento Cheese Tart is inspired by a southern favorite. Made with a warmly peppered, crisp cornmeal tart shell filled with an extra creamy, sweetly spiced pimento cheese filling and topped with a stunning array of summery fresh heirloom tomatoes. It's like a savory vacation to the southern states!

Ingredients

Units

BLACK PEPPER CORNMEAL CRUST

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into ¼" cubes
  • ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup fine or medium ground cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons ice cold vodka
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

PIMENTO CHEESE FILLING

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup chopped pimento peppers, from jar - drained and patted dry
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
  • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or plain paprika
  • a few dashes hot sauce, a vinegar forward hot sauce like Louisiana or Crystal is a nice option

FINISHING TOPPINGS

  • 2-3 large heirloom tomatoes
  • 2-3 medium heirloom tomatoes
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • freshly snipped chives
  • freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

BLACK PEPPER CORNMEAL CRUST

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, black pepper and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  3. Add the butter to the flour mixture and use a pastry blender or your hands to squish the butter in with the dry ingredients until pea sized granules start to from. 
  4. Slowly add the ice cold vodka and use a fork to mix until hydrated. Then mix in the olive oil until just combined. The dough should be a little rough and shaggy but hold together when squeezed in your hand.
  5. Transfer the dough into a 10" removable bottom tart pan and press the dough into the pan evenly and up the sides. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork.
  6. Line with parchment paper or foil and fill with beans or rice to weigh the dough down. Blind bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges begin to turn a golden brown. Remove the foil filled with beans and bake the crust for another 5 minutes until the edges are a deep golden brown and the bottom is fully baked and golden. Set aside and allow to cool. 

PIMENTO CHEESE FILLING

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the cream cheese and yogurt together until light and fluffy. Mix in the remaining ingredients until blended. 
  2. Gently transfer into the cooled tart shell then use a small offset spatula to smooth out the the filling and spread it to the sides. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to allow the filling to set.

ASSEMBLE & TOP THE TART

  1. While the tart filling sets up, prep the tomatoes. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Slice the large, medium and a few of the small tomatoes into ¼" - ½" thick slices. Lay the tomato slices on the lined baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with sea salt - this helps to draw the moisture out of the tomatoes so it doesn't soak into your tart. Allow to sit at least an hour.
  2. Once the filling it set, layer with sliced tomatoes. Start by shingling the larger sliced heirloom tomatoes on the bottom, then layer on the smaller heirloom and dot the top with the cherry tomatoes.
  3. Drizzle on some olive oil, sprinkle with fresh chopped chives and add a few cracks of freshly ground black pepper. Slice and serve!

Notes

Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Tart
  • Cuisine: Southern

A big thanks to Becky of Square Meal Round Table & Annie of What Annie's Eating for organizing this tomato loving group under the tag #wesaytomatoes on Instagram. Now excuse me while I make all of these juicy tomato recipes before tomato season ends!

Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust by Baking The Goods
Heirloom Tomato and Pimento Cheese Tart with Cornmeal Crust by Baking The Goods

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