HONEY-PECAN TOMATO TARTS WITH BLUE CHEESE / RECIPE BY fakefoodfree.com

Hungry? Hungry eyes? Try this incredibly delicious recipe from our current issue’s Sustainability Special. Honey-pecan tomato tarts with blue cheese, by Lori Rice of fakefoodfree.com!

Lori, how do you go about developing your recipes?
Often I find a new ingredient at the farmers market or discover a new dish when we travel and this sparks an idea to create a recipe. I don’t have a specific protocol I follow. Sometimes, I start cooking and write the recipe as I go. For others, I’m inspired to write the full recipe before I even get to the kitchen.

If you could have anyone, really anyone, over for dinner, who would it be?
My paternal grandmother. She passed away when I was 8 years old so she wasn’t a part of my life in my adulthood. Many of the foods my family makes during the holidays are her recipes. I didn’t pay attention in the kitchen when I was younger so I would love to cook and eat with her to witness firsthand how she made all of the dishes.

Ingredients for 6 Tarts:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 – 9 inch pie crust
3 – 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190ºC) .

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, about 7 minutes. The tomatoes will begin to burst and the onions will caramelize. Gently smash the tomatoes as they begin to burst.

3. Stir in the pecans and cook about 1 minute more. Stir in the honey, and the salt. Allow to cool while you prepare the crust.

4. Roll the pie crust to about 9 inches, and cut into 6 – 3 1/2 to 4 inch circles. I used an x-large muffin pan for the tarts. Place each circle of dough into the muffin tin. Press gently to fill the bottom and to come up about 1 inch on the side. Prick the dough with a fork. (You will likely have a little dough left over.)

5. Spoon the tomato mixture into each of the muffin tins, filling the crust. Next, divide the blue cheese and sprinkle each tart with an equal amount.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and begins to bubble, and the edges are browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.