Mediterranean Tomato Tart (artichokes, green olives, arugula, feta)

A savory tart of tomatoes topped with an artichoke, arugula pesto, and green olive mixture with plenty of cheeses.

I know I've been about the Mediterranean lately, with my Fattoush dip, the slow cooker Greek chicken tacos, and the five layer Mediterranean dip.  Is it my subconscious calling for a vacation?  I took a vacation last week (and thankfully did this post all up well beforehand so I didn't have to rush around and write in the post-endless driving/massive laundry doing/when do I get to kick back? phase).  The pictures are not as good as some I've taken since I learned how to take better ones, but the flavor of this tart is delicious.

I created this recipe from a desire to have a less 'cheesy rich' version of the Basil Tomato Tart.  It has the tasty combination of artichoke hearts and green olives.  I first tried that on pizza and wow!  I'd never cared for olives until I had an artichoke and green olive pizza.  Now I love them and can eat them any way.  If you don't have arugula pesto, any pesto would substitute.  But if you're overrun with arugula, try this pesto.  I got the pesto recipe from Farmer John's The Real Dirt on Vegetables.  It's a great cookbook I bought through my CSA back in Virginia, Blenheim Organic Gardens.
Hey guess what?  Store bought pie crust still.  One of these days . . . but no, first things first.  Since I've been reading Cooked by Michael Pollan with the HOMEGROWN book club I'm more interested in sourdough bread and kimchi than in pie crust.  This morning I start my sourdough starter, so in a week I'll be rolling in the dough . . .

NOTE: This recipe is not gluten free as written, because I used a pie crust that contains gluten. To adapt this recipe for a gluten free diet please substitute the gluten free pie crust of your choice.
Check labels to confirm that your other ingredients are also gluten free. Good sources for determining gluten free products can be found here:
http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/ 

Mediterranean Tomato Tart

1 pie crust (single crust pie)
1/3 cup shredded Italian blend cheese (substitute mozzarella or pizza blend)

8 quarters of marinated artichoke hearts, drained (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup Arugula pesto (see here for the recipe)

1/4 cup Manzanilla olives or the green olive of your choice
2 medium tomatoes, sliced and set aside to drain their juice a bit

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle or other Italian seasoning blend

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place pie crust in a tart or pie pan.  Cover with foil.  Bake 8 minutes at 450 degrees.  Remove foil and bake another 4 minutes.  Take crust out and top with shredded Italian blend cheese.  Reduce heat to 375 degrees.

Finely chop the artichoke hearts and olives.  Combine with the arugula pesto.  (Or toss it all in a food processor and pulse until combined.  Your choice if you feel like more dishes to wash.)

Lay tomatoes over cheesy crust.  Top with artichoke-arugula-olive blend.  Sprinkle feta and Pasta Sprinkle over top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.  Serve warm or straight out of the fridge for breakfast the next morning.

This post is shared with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' Wednesday, Carole's Chatter, What's In The Box, the From The Farm Blog Hop