Simple Heirloom Tomato Tart with Puff Pastry
The "what to serve for a party" recipe that you'll make over and over —especially in summer. Keep puff pastry on hand to whip up a quick and simple heirloom tomato tart. A bit of cheese and garlic along with a oil and vinegar drizzle are the simple accessories for this easy appetizer recipe.
Servings 12 pieces
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until blended, Use a pastry brush to brush the dressing on the tomatoes so as to not make the pastry crust "wet".
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.
