Recipe: Late Summer Tomato Tart via Marcia Selden

Late summer offers some of the best produce of the season!  For those of you who garden, you may be finding yourself with a bumper crop of plump sweet tomatoes.  Here’s our recipe for a delicious tomato tart.  Don’t let the word tart intimidate you, it’s deceptively easy to make, and absolutely perfect for a picnic at the beach or at home with friends.  

Late Summer Tomato Tart

1 package puff pastry, thawed (we like Du Four which is made with pure butter)

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ C. chopped fresh basil

¼ C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Optional additions:

 ¼ C. crumbled feta or goat cheese

3 Tbs. olive tapenade

3-4 cloves roasted garlic

Preheat oven to 400.  Defrost the frozen frozen puff pastry; either let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours or lay it out on your kitchen counter, wrapped for about 30 minutes.   Once defrosted, unfold.  

Toss cherry tomatoes in a bowl with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. 

Either line a cookie sheet with baking parchment or butter the pan generously.   Carefully place the puff pastry on the prepared cookie sheet.   

Cover the pastry with shredded mozzarella cheese, and arrange tomatoes in rows so they don’t overlap.  Sprinkle with basil and Parmesan cheese and bake for 15-18 minutes or until pastry has puffed up and is golden brown.  Note- if adding additional cheeses, tapenade, or garlic, add before topping with Parmesan cheese.