Ah a tomato tart. It just tastes like the end of summer. That’s when my mom’s tomato plants would always produce the most tomatoes, usually forcing us to make a billion recipes with tomatoes for the next few weeks. Spoiler alert: I didn’t and still don’t mind 🙂 This is truly a quick recipe that looks tricky but frankly, save yourself the hassle and us as many store bought items as you can. There are certain recipes where ingredients just taste better homemade, this is not one of them. No one will know if you spilled blood, sweat & tears grinding pine nuts for the pesto. The tart is beautiful and tastes just as delicious with the store bought stuff!
What You’ll Need:
4 small, multicolored tomatoes, like as heirloom or Campari, sliced crosswise 1/4-inch thick
kosher salt and black pepper
1 sheet packaged puff pastry, thawed (I use Pepperidge Farm Pastry Sheets)
3 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
(yes, sour cream tastes just as good as crème fraîche so don’t buy a whole new container if you have sour cream in your fridge!)
¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced
¾ cup fresh ricotta
store-bought or homemade pesto (I like to use Trader Joe’s Vegan pesto)
extra-virgin olive oil
fresh basil leaves for garnish
The How To:
- Before you do anything, make sure your pastry sheets are thawed. You won’t be able to start the process until they’re workable.
- Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. Set the sliced tomatoes on top in a single layer. Season the tomatoes evenly on both sides with salt & pepper, cover with another paper towel and let sit, 15 minutes, allowing the salt to draw moisture out of the tomatoes. You want them to be really dry.
- As the tomatoes sit, heat the oven to 400° and set a rack in the middle of the oven. Working on a large sheet of parchment paper, unfold the puff pastry into a rectangle (approximately 9″x11″). Prick the inside with a fork every few inches, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Using a pastry brush, coat the center of the puff pastry with the sour cream (or crème fraîche), leaving the border unbrushed.
- Layer the tomatoes and red onion on top of the tart, allowing them to overlap slightly. Make sure to leave a border of crust. Transfer to a sheet pan and bake, rotating halfway through, until puff pastry is browned and puffed. About 30 to 35 minutes.
- Once removed from the oven, add fresh ricotta. Drizzle on pesto (you can thin it with olive oil if it’s too thick) to taste and top with fresh basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Enjoy!
Cheers,
