There is just something about a tart…exemplifying the flavors of the season, homey, a delight to behold. And they are even better when you have it all to yourself, to savor or to share, to nibble or to hog. A diminutive bite, savory with vine-ripened tomatoes and sweet with yellow corn, made a sublime, hand-held lunch to enjoy on a warm summer’s day.

By far the hardest part of making this tart is producing the dough, and that was really not so difficult. A few weeks ago, I made a peach pie; the pie turned out wonderfully, but getting there was almost a disaster. The dough was so short, so impossible to roll out, it had me crying in exasperation over my sliced peaches. So this time around, for my corn and tomato tartlettes, I scrapped the new recipes and went back to a tried and true one, a dough that rolls out like a dream, with a delicate, slightly sour flavor. I used this recipe, simply omitting the sugar, and adding an extra pinch of salt for my savory filling. The dough was then divided into six pieces for my tartlettes.

Summer is in full swing here. The tomatoes are getting tender and juicy, and the corn, though neatly self-contained in its husk, is bursting with sweet goodness; so it didn’t take much to make a delicious tasting tart. Rolling the dough out is never a problem with this recipe, and the tarts were ready to be assembled in no time. I seeded the tomatoes, then thickly sliced them into rounds. I sprinkled the tomatoes with salt, and a bit of freshly chopped basil. Then corn kernels, cut straight from the cob were nestled on top of the tomatoes. Finally, after a grinding of black pepper, and the edges of the dough were brought onto the tart, and pressed to seal close.

After baking the tarts at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, I removed them from the oven just to give them a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Then back into the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, permeating the house with the sweet aroma of baking dough. Finally I could wait no longer, and bit into a still-warm tartlette. It was perfect, the corn and tomatoes roasted a bit from baking, the tart dough tender yet flaky, and the parmesan added just the right amount of salt. And the best part of the tarlettes were of course the fact that I didn’t have to share with anyone!