Tomatoes, A Tart and a ‘Tini. Or Two. - Tomato & Goat Cheese Tart

In my house, it’s the season of lining tomatoes on my windowsills, and there are few happier sights in my kitchen. Fat red tomatoes, little orange ones, slightly lopsided ones, all sitting there looking beautiful and ripening faster than I can possibly eat them. I saved the wee ones to snack on and grabbed the fat red ones.

My friend Wendy was planning on stopping over for a quick dirty martini. Or two. And since even I recognize that a dirty martini probably shouldn’t count as dinner (depending on the type of day you’ve had), I started looking at those tomatoes. Wait, olives are a vegetable, right? And if you use Chopin Vodka for your martini, you’ve got potatoes in there too. Done.

What came out looked considerably more sophisticated than the effort that went into it, which is exactly the kind of recipe I love. Crisp, buttery pastry, creamy tangy goat cheese and sweet summer tomatoes, with fresh herbs.

It was also just right with a dirty martini.

Or two.

The only real trick is getting some of the moisture out of the tomatoes before they go onto the pastry. Not sure there’s anything worse than soggy pastry dough.

And nobody wants to end tomato season on that note.

Tomato & Herbed Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart

INGREDIENTS

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

4–5 ripe tomatoes

8 oz herbed goat cheese, softened*

2–3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh basil, thyme or chives

Optional: balsamic glaze or hot honey for finishing

METHOD

Slice the tomatoes about ¼-inch thick. Lay them on a couple of layers of paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt and let them sit for 15–20 minutes. Put another layer of paper towels on top and gently blot.

Please don’t skip this step – it makes all the difference.

Heat the oven to 400. Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment.

Lay the two puff-pastry sheets side by side, overlapping the adjoining edges by about ½ inch. Press or gently roll that seam together so you have one large rectangle.

Roll a border about ¾ inch from the outside edge, being careful not to make it too thick. Prick the entire center generously with a fork, but don’t prick the border.

Mix the goat cheese with enough cream to make it easily spreadable. Add the garlic, plus some black pepper. * You could use Boursin instead of goat cheese if you have some around – just add the cream cheese in bits so you can keep the texture  under control.

Spread the goat cheese over the pastry inside the scored border.

Arrange the tomatoes over the cheese. They can overlap slightly if you have to, but don’t pile them up. Drizzle very lightly with olive oil and give them plenty of black pepper.

Whisk the egg and brush it over the exposed pastry border. Salt the border a little bit.

Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden and puffed around the edges and the tomatoes have begun to roast.

If the center puffs dramatically during the first several minutes, don’t panic. It generally settles under the tomatoes and cheese.

Let it rest 5–10 minutes before topping with a bit of fresh basil.

If you’re feeling saucy, drizzle a little balsamic or even hot honey over the top.

Cut yourself a nice-sized slice. Or two.

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