A Christmas Brunch Tomato Tart
When I entertain, I always feel like I could use a very simple recipe for a savory tart. When I consider putting together a Christmas brunch, this doesn’t change. It is the simple part that can often be lost. Making the crust alone can be time consuming. But I assure you, a simple, savory tart can be made without much hassle at all. I particularly like a simple tomato tart as I think it is something a little different that isn’t often served. With a few store bought items, a simple tomato tart is easy to achieve and it will be delicious.
A Christmas Brunch Tomato Tart – The Crust
To keep it extra simple, there is no shame in buying a crust from the store. A perfectly good, all butter puff pastry is all one needs to create a delicious foundation for a tomato tart. You can always make your own crust, but when time is of the essence or when we find ourselves in a kitchen malaise that seems to drain our ability to cook, a purchased crust fills all our needs. There is a lot we can do with a puff pastry, but one of the best things is to make a tart. We often think of pie crust for tarts, but puff pastry’s buttery, flakiness works great with both sweet and savory fillings.
To complete the crust, one must simply cut a few strips of the puff pastry and stack them around the edges to build up the sides and then “blind bake” it.
A Simple Tomato Tart Needs Cheese
After the crust is baked, it only gets simpler. An herbed cheese is half the filling. You can make your own herbed cheese by adding flavourings to some soft goat cheese or you can purchase some already made (you know like Boursin or whatever your favorite brand is). For a tomato tart, a garlic and herb cheese spread works very well.
Tomato On A Tomato Tart
Once the cheese spread is onto the baked crust, slice up some tomatoes and layer them on the cheese. A light sprinkle of italian herbs is nice and a shake of parmesan works, too. After the parmesan is sprinkled on, put it under the broiler for a minute or two, until it is melted and bubbly, then serve it up! This is a perfect tart for a light meal or as an item on a brunch buffet.
The video below shows you all the steps to making this simple and delicious tomato tart. The full recipe follows.
- 1 9x12 sheet of purchased all butter puff pastry
- 1 8oz container of herbed cheese spread like Boursin at room temperature
- 3 tomatoes
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning (optional)
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
- Place the sheet of puff pastry on a sheet of baking paper.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut 2 one inch strips from the long side of the puff pastry sheet.
- Cut 2 one inch strips from the short side of the puff pastry sheet.
- Brush the edge of the sheet from which the strips were cut with a little water. This will be the bottom of the tart. Place the cut strips around the edges of the bottom sheet using the long strips on the long sides and short strips on the short sides. The strips can overlap and the corners. This will create the edges of the tart. Using a fork, dock the bottom pastry sheet. This will stop the bottom from puffing up.
- Keeping the crust on the baking paper, slide it onto a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges have risen and the crust is just golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let cool completely.
- If the bottom puffs up, use a paring knife and slice around the edge of the puffed bottom making sure the knife does not go all the way through crust, then gently press the bottom back down. The edges should be higher than the bottom.
- When the crust is cool, spread the softened cheese all over the bottom of the crust.
- Slice the tomatoes in rounds or half circles and layer them on top of the cheese layer.
- Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top of the tomatoes.
- Sprinkle a dash of Italian seasonings on top.
- Turn on the oven broiler.
- Place the tart under the broiler until the parmesan cheese is just melted and getting bubbly, about 2-3 minutes. Watch to make sure the crust does not burn.
- Slice the tart into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
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Have you ever made a tomato tart?
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