Tomato tart was not something I envisioned making with the second batch of my rough puff pastry. There was this apple tart recipe I was eyeing. But, my parents came to visit last weekend. My mom brought me fresh tomatoes from her garden and it seemed like the right thing to do. I made it for dinner on Sunday and it was a huge hit. The fresh and roasted tomatoes with the creamy feta cheese mixture underneath that reminded me of boursin cheese. Plus the crunch of the puff pastry made for a great combination. Its a savory dish that for me, checks all the boxes. This recipe is largely based on Claire Saffitz’s recipe from her book “Dessert Person” On to the recipe if you haven’t skipped ahead already.
Tomato Prep Notes
The prep time I have listed for this recipe might be a little misleading. It assumes you have the puff pastry ready to go. If you need to make a batch, save the trouble and buy it at the grocery store. Pie dough also works here too. If you’re super interested in making your own rough puff pastry, check out the recipe here.
If you don’t have heirloom and cherry tomatoes, you can use whatever’s on hand. I liked the combo of heirloom and cherry since I thought it would photograph well, let me know if you would agree. Use a serrated knife to slice the heirloom tomato slices. Lay the slices in the baking tray, scatter the sliced shallot on top along with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until nice and soft, rotating the pan halfway through.
While the heirloom tomatoes are in the oven, slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Set aside for later. Once the heirloom tomatoes are done, remove from the oven and leave the oven on. Transfer the tomatoes, shallots, and garlic to a plate and wash the baking tray to use in baking the rough puff pastry. You can also just use a second pan if you have one, which is what I did.
Rough Puff and Feta Prep
Take the rough puff out of the fridge 5 minutes before rolling out to warm up. If you’re using a frozen puff pastry or pie dough, leave in the fridge overnight to thaw. Flour your work surface and roll out puff pastry to roughly the size of your baking tray. Transfer to the baking tray and using the tines of a fork, prick the pastry all over. This will help prevent the pastry from puffing up too much. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown all over. If there are any areas puffing up significantly, press them down with the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
The feta mixture can be prepared while the rough puff is in the oven. Crumble the feta into a tall sided bowl. Add the cottage cheese, spices, salt, and pepper. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the mixture. Using an immersion blender, mix until very smooth.
Tomato Tart Assembly Notes
Once the pastry has cooled enough, spread the feta mixture over the pastry in a thin, even layer. Next, lay the cooked tomatoes and shallots on top of the feta mixture. Add the fresh cherry tomatoes in olive oil next. Season a little more salt and pepper on top. Chiffonade some fresh basil leaves and sprinkle on top for a final garnish. Its best eaten fresh and doesn’t quite taste as good cold, or reheated. It’s a great dish for a party or when you’re having friends over. Or if your kids actually like tomatoes, I hated them as a kid so hopefully yours don’t. And if they do, just know that there’s hope they might like them later on.
Tomato Tart
Equipment
- immersion blender or food processor
- cooling racks
Ingredients
- Half batch of rough-puff pastry https://trophyhusbandbakeshop.com/?p=458
- AP flour for rolling out
- 8 oz feta, in brine 227 grams
- 60 grams cottage cheese full fat, fat free, whatever
- 57 grams olive oil
- 1¼ lbs Heirloom Tomatoes
- 1¼ lbs Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 large shallot Cut into thin slices
- 8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 10 grams Oregano
- 20 grams Basil half fresh, half dry
- 5 grams Oregano
- 5 grams Curry powder
- Kosher Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 grams red pepper flake
Instructions
Ingredient Prep
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Core the heirloom tomatoes. Using a serrated knife, slice the heirloom tomatoes into ¼" thick slices.
- Lay the tomato slices on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Add the sliced shallot and unpeeled garlic cloves on top. Sprinkle the mixture with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 35 or until the tomatoes are very soft and beginning to burn at the edges. Rotate the pan halfway through
- While the tomatoes are cooking, Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place in a bowl. Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine and set aside.
- Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots to a plate to cool.
- Leave the oven on at 400 and wash and dry the pan to bake the puff pastry.
- Bring the rough puff pastry out of the fridge for 5 minutes to warm up a bit. If using frozen, let thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
- While the rough puff is warming up, make the feta cheese spread
- crumble the feta into a tall sided bowl and add the cottage cheese and spices.
- squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and add to the feta mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper
- Using the immersion blender, combine all ingredients until very smooth. If mixture seems to dry, add a little bit of olive oil or the feta brine. Set aside for use later.
- Dust your work surface with flour. Roll out the rough puff pastry to a rectangle shape roughly the size of your baking tray, roughly ⅛" to ¼".
- Prick the pastry all over with the tines of a fork so that the moisture has somewhere to escape during baking.
- Place the dough on a parchment lined baking tray and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. The dough should be a golden brown all over. Place on a cooling rack to cool.
Assembly
- Once the rough puff is cooled, spread the feta mixture over the top of the rough puff in an even layer.
- Lay the cooked tomatoes and shallots on top of the feta mixture. Add the cherry tomatoes on top and drizzle with any remaining olive oil.
- Sprinkle the fresh basil leaves on top. The basil leaves can be chiffonade cut for an extra touch.
- Slice into pieces with a pizza cutter and dig in. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a day or two if there even are leftovers.
