Heirloom Tomato Tart

Once upon a time, before groundhogs, I grew these.

It seems as though I wait all year on fresh summer tomatoes, and when they arrive, I try to have them on the menu in whatever fashion I can. This tomato tart can be adapted to any number of variations to suit your family’s tastes. It is a little lighter than the tomato pie that I often make which makes it nice for those of us who are watching out diets.

I have to admit that I am fortunate to have a husband who is easy to please when it comes to food, but he absolutely loved this. So did I. What a nice way to have a healthy, delicious, and meatless meal on the table.

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Makes 2 large or 4 smaller servings.

1 large sheet of frozen puff pastry
1/3 cup goat cheese, softened at room temperature
3 – 4 medium heirloom tomatoes, sliced and patted dry*
1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil**
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil***

Remove pastry from the freezer and let thaw for 30 minutes. Once thawed, unfold the pastry and smooth any creases with a bit of water on your fingertips. Place the pastry on a small baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread the goat cheese on the pastry, leaving a 2-inch margin around the edges. Pile on the tomato and onion slices. Fold up the edges of the pastry to meet the filling, crimping somewhat as you go.

Sprinkle with the basil and garlic. Season with the sea salt and pepper. Cover everything with about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into quarters to serve.

*I used a variety of heirloom cherry and baby tomatoes for this. I like the way it looks with the variations of color.

** In addition to the basil that was included in the tart, I sprinkled fresh thyme and fresh oregano on the top about 4-5 minutes before the tart was done.

***I used basil oil that I had previously made and had stored in the refrigerator.

I also sprinkled on some small dollops of goat cheese on the top of the tart shortly before removing from the oven.

Adapted from Heirloom Gardener, Summer 2012.

I served it with a fresh vegetable saute and some homemade dilly bread. There were grilled peaches and vanilla ice cream for dessert, but we were too full to eat those.

Now if I could just figure out a way to keep our resident groundhog from eating our tomato plants, I could enjoy more tomato dishes!