News flash: This is the tomato tart recipe of my dreams. I have been dreaming of and testing ideas for an heirloom tomato tart with puff pastry for over two years without much success. Then, I finally realized: less is always more.
This tomato puff pastry tart defines less is more. Ripe and juicy heirloom tomatoes are snuggled into an asiago speckled puff pastry base. The whole pan is lightly drizzled with a zesty oil and vinegar dressing. Oh! Almost forgot the smattering of thinly sliced shallot rings.
Do not forget the shallot rings.
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A tomato tart is the best summer party recipe
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I actually made this puff pastry tart 3 times in 3 days for 2 different events. And I came home with an empty tray each time. Why do I love it? It is so darn easy thanks to frozen puff pastry and garden tomatoes. Plus, it reheats like a dream. Snacking on the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge, is also an option. I might have done that once. Or twice.
It makes the best appetizer for a party because it’s great served at room temp (or hot) and one tart cuts easily into 12-15 pieces. Consider the heirloom tomato tart the boujee cousin of Philly tomato pie.
Or serve as a light summer dinner alongside a fresh arugula salad or heartier antipasto salad.
The ingredient list
One of the best things about an heirloom tomato tart is that the ingredient list is super short.
Cheese alternative
If you can’t find asiago, a great alternative is fontinella. Not to be confused with fontina, fontinella is a sharp Italian cheese with a great bite and can be usually found at Trader Joe’s or your favorite specialty cheese source.
Alright…it’s tomato tart time
⏱Before you get started, remove the puff pastry from the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 20-30 minutes.
- Flour the counter a bit and unwrap 1 piece of puff pastry. Lay the pastry on the flour and using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry to about 10″w x 15″ long.
- Use the tip of a sharp knife to lightly score the edges of the pastry about 1″ in. Make a closed box
- Brush over minced garlic on the puff pastry. I use a pastry brush for this.
- Sprinkle over grated asiago cheese. Continue keeping inside the outlined crust area.
- Layer over sliced tomatoes. Alternate colors and overlap a bit on the edges.
- Evenly space sliced shallots and a sprinkling of parmesan over top and follow with a drizzle of olive oil along with salt and pepper.
- Brush beaten egg wash over the edges and bake until the edges puff up and the top is golden brown.
Drizzle of dressing
I’m partial but a light drizzle of this tangy oil and vinegar dressing adds a ton of flavor to this tart. A little goes a long way and you can brush or spoon it on just on the tomatoes to keep the crispy pastry crust from getting soggy.
First time working with puff pastry?
Puff pastry seems delicate and fragile but it’s actually quite sturdy. I’ve got a few tips to make your puff pastry experience a success.
Puff pastry comes folded into thirds like a letter. Unroll it as soon as it can be opened. Bake puff pastry when it’s as cold as possible.
Puff pastry bakes more evenly on a lighter colored baking sheet so save your dark pan for another recipe.
Preheat the oven with a rack in the center.
Have all of your ingredients prepped before rolling out the puff pastry so that you can top it quickly and get it into the oven.
Make ahead tips
Make ahead. Bake the whole tart and then reheat it before serving. You don’t want to bake it far in advance because the puff pastry won’t “puff”.
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Simple Heirloom Tomato Tart with Puff Pastry
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Equipment
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
- 1 sheet puff pastry, I use Pepperidge Farm or Trader Joe's (available at the holidays)
- 3 garlic cloves, about 1 T; minced
- 4 oz asiago cheese, grated
- 3 heirloom tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced; excess seeds squeezed out
- 1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced into rings
- ¼ cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, finely grated
Oil and vinegar drizzle
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, add 1 more if you like your dressing tangier
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Prep the puff pastry
- Preheat oven to 400° and position a rack in the top center of the oven. Drizzle a half sheet pan with a little olive oil and use a pastry brush to coat the pan.1 sheet puff pastry, olive oil
- Defrost puff pastry according to package directions about 20-25 minutes or so.
- While the puff pastry defrosts, core and slice each tomato into about 4-5 slices. Squeeze out any excess seeds.3 heirloom tomatoes
- On a clean, floured countertop or cutting board, use a rolling pin to roll out puff pastry to a rectangle approximately 10" w x 15" long. Flour the rolling pin a bit too. Lay the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Use a sharp knife to lightly score a rectangle border on all sides about 1" in from the edge, being careful not to cut through the dough to the pan.
Assemble the tart
- Sprinkle 1 T minced garlic over the puff pastry and use a pastry brush to distribute it as evenly as you can across the pastry dough.3 garlic cloves
- Sprinkle asiago cheese grated over the garlic. Layer on the slices of heirloom tomatoes, placing them in a colorway that makes you happy and overlapping as needed.4 oz asiago cheese
- Scatter finely sliced rings of shallots and top the whole thing with a drizzle of olive oil and healthy sprinkling of kosher salt and pepper. Top with finely grated parmesan or Romano cheese.1 shallot, ¼ cup Parmesan or Romano cheese
- Place in the middle part of the oven and bake for about 22 minutes until golden brown on top. You might have to rotate the pan halfway through baking so that the dough bakes evenly. Keep an eye on the crust so it doesn't get too dark.
For the oil and vinegar drizzle (after baking)
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until blended, Use a pastry brush to brush the dressing on the tomatoes only so as to not dampen the crispy pastry.3 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Serving
- Cool the tart in the pan for about ten minutes. Cut into 12-16 squares with a pizza cutter. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
It’s unclear WHEN to apply the dressing to the tomatoes – before cooking? after while cooling?
Hi Marvin..so sorry! The drizzle goes on just the tomatoes after baking. I did mention about not wanting to make crust wet but did adjust the verbiage in the recipe card so hopefully it reads better now. Thank you!
Fabulous recipe in my house when we don’t know what to have, they jump and say let’s make Loris easy one.🙏🌹👏👏👏🙋♂️
Thank you so much Felix! Appreciate the support! 😊