Tomatoes, naturally delicious and full of nutrients. right now they are peaking in my garden. Every year I look forward to making this tart with the tomatoes that I grow.
Try this for dinner Kirsten from New York. I believe “Hampton Tomatoes” are supposed to be pretty good.
I feel very fortunate to have a vegetable garden. If I could only grow one thing, I would definately grow tomatoes. If I could only grown two things, I would definately grow tomatoes and basil. What a perfect pair.
Look at these red baseballs. Gorgeous.
Sweet 100’s! That’s not a lie either. You literally get 100’s of these cherry tomatoes from one plant.
The harvest.
For this tart you will need one sheet of frozen puff pastry. Read the directions on the package on how to thaw. I have removed the frozen puff pastry from the package and I am letting it thaw on the countertop on a floured surface. It doesn’t take too long.
Once the pastry dough has thawed, unfold it carefully. If the dough is still frozen, just be paitent and wait a little longer. If you force open the pastry dought, it will break. You don’t want to do that.
Once the dough has completely thawed gently roll it out to a 14 x 11-inch rectangle.
Pull out a ruler to measure so that you can be exact. The pastry dough will be thin.
Cut a 1/2-inch strip from each side of the pastry rectangle.
Like this.
Crack one egg into a small bowl.
Beat it.
Place the pastry on a parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheet.
Brush the pastry dough with the beaten egg.
Place the 1/2-inch cut strips on edges of the tart. Press gently to adhere.
Cut the excess strip off.
Do the same on the all four sides.
Adding the strips of dough will create a frame for your tomatoes.
Brush the strips of dough with the egg.
Take a fork and piece the entire tart several times.
This will keep the pastry from puffing into a pillow.
Piece the edges as well.
Place the pastry into a preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven.
Carefully lift the pastry from the baking sheet and cool completely on a wire rack.
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees because you are going to bake the tart again.
Next step:
You will need a few tomatoes, pesto sauce, cream cheese, milk, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Place the cream cheese in a small mixing bowl.
Beat for a minute or so to lighten up the cream.
Add the pesto sauce.
Mix the cream cheese and pesto together.
You just have to beat it until it has mixed together.
Add the milk.
Thoroughly mix. Make sure the cream cheese isn’t lumpy.
Set aside for a minute.
Slice the tomatoes about 1/2-inch thick. You can slice them thinner if you like. My tomatoes are medium size…about like a baseball.
I’m slicing three tomatoes.
Return the cooled pastry to the baking sheet.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled pastry tart.
An off-set spatula makes the job easier.
Spread as evenly as possible.
Arrange the tomato slices on top of the cream cheese mixture.
I have to cut a row of my tomatoes in half due to the fact that their size didn’t permit me to make three rows of whole slices.
Like Tim Gunn says, “Make it work”!
Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Place the tart in the 350 degree oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the tart has set up and there are not visible juices. If there are still a lot of juices, the tart will go soggy.
While the tart is baking, you can get the fresh basil ready.
Remove the basil leaves from the stem.
Stack the leaves on top of each other and roll them together a bit.
Slice the basil. This is called a “chiffonade”.
Set the basil aside until the tart comes out of the oven.
When the tart is completely cooked with no juices visible, remove from the oven.
Sprinkle with the basil chiffonade.
Isn’t that pretty. I love the green against the red.
I like to eat this while it is hot. Because the pastry is so crispy and I love the crunch with the juice tart tomatoes and the creaminess of the pesto and cream cheese.
Lovely.
Cut a wedge and serve with a lightly dressed mixture of greens tossed in lemon juice and olive oil.
For me, this is a perfect end of summer supper. Other members of my family consider this “chick food”.
Pshhh! Whatever!
Fresh Tomato and Basil Tart
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
4 oz cream cheese
¼ cup pesto sauce
2 tablespoons milk
3 medium tomatoes
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
Salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or lightly grease. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 14 x 11-inch rectangle. Trim edges to even. Cut ½-inch
Strip from each side of pastry, forming 13 x 10-inch rectangle; reserve strips. Transfer pasty to baking sheet. Brush edges with some of beaten egg. Place strips on edges of tart, creating a border. Press gently to adhere. Brush entire rectangle and edges with remaining egg. Pierce bottom of pastry several times with fork. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and gently lift pastry to a cooling rack until completely cooled. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
In a small mixing bowl beat cream cheese. Add pesto and milk and mix well. Spread cream cheese mixture carefully over bottom of pastry. Arrange tomato slices, overlapping decoratively on top of cream cheese mixture. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until tart has set up and there are no visible juices. If not, the pastry will become soggy. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with basil. Can be served hot or at room temperature. Serves 6
This tart is one of the dishes that I look forward to making at the end of summer. Garden fresh tomatoes give this tart a bright, fresh, burst in your mouth flavor.
LOVE IT!!
What a beautiful and simple tomato tart! I can't wait to try this, a perfect summer dinner!
My mouth was watering reading your post. Great pics and instructions!! I, too, love tomatoes and basil and those would be my picks if they were all I could grow. I'm actually going to start a fall garden this weekend. I live in the South and the fall garden is often the best one or so I hear. This is my first attempt. Blessings!! Melanie
This looks delicious! Btw, I use my quilting rulers in the kitchen too! Angela
Yes! I'm so happy to hear that.
Look soooo good, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for commenting.
I will make this for dinner tomorrow night. We have 40 tomato plants and I need some good things to make. I love your blog.
Judy from Coalville
Hi Judy from Coalville. How are you? It has been such a long time since we have seen each other. You are going to have a great time bottling all of those tomatoes! I have about 1/2 as many plants as you and I'm hoping they don't come on strong for at least another 5 weeks because I have a daughter getting married in about 3 weeks. I need to get that over then I can concentrate on canning season. Thank you so much for commenting and reading my blog. This is one of the perks I get. Take care.
I am busy and happy. I am married and have two children and five grandchildren. I made this last night for Relief Society, and it was a hit. Thanks for making me look good.
Hello! Life is great. I made this last night for a dinner, and it was a hit! Thanks for helping me look good. Good luck with the wedding.
I'm so glad you took this to Relief Society. I bet you impressed all the ladies. I'm so glad it was a hit. So good to hear from you. I have four grandkids and they wear me right out. I love them to death!
Absolutely beautiful! My tomatoes are not ripe yet, but getting there. This will be the first thing I make when they are ready. Yum!
I have three ripe tomatoes. I have been anxiously awaiting their arrival. This is what I'm making for dinner tonight.
Wow! What a lovely tart!
What a nice comment. Thank you.
Wow I will definitely be making this! Looks so so good!
I'm making this for dinner tonight! I can hardly wait.