Heirloom Tomato Puff Pastry Tart With A Black OIive Tapenade And Honey Glazed Carmelized Onions, Topped with Parmesan and Torn Burrata Cheese
Summer tomatoes are at their best right now and there is nothing better than a tart to display them. We used frozen puff pastry because it is just so easy to use and can be kept in the freezer for last minute use. We also used heirloom tomatoes as the flavor is so much better than conventional varieties. We layered the crust with a pre-made black olive tapenade, carmelized onions and Parmesan cheese before placing the tomatoes on top. We also salted the tomatoes and let them sit out for 30 minutes so that the tomatoes let out juice and do not make the puff pastry mushy.
You can serve the tomato tart without the cheese on top or serve it only with Parmesan. You can also take it to another level and serve it with torn pieces of burrata on top.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
2 frozen puff pastry tart shells, thawed
5 heirloom tomatoes, various sizes and colors
3 Tbs good quality black olive tapenade
1 ½ cup shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese, divided
2 ½ Tbs fresh thyme leaves, removed from stem, divided
1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings
1 ½ Tbs olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, sliced horizontally
1 tsp honey
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 balls burrata cheese, torn into pieces
Fresh basil leaves to garnish
Directions:
Thaw the puff pastry for 30 minutes at room temperature or thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice tomatoes into even slices approximately ¼ to ⅓ inch thick. Place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle both side of the tomatoes with an ample amount of salt. Let sit 30 minutes. Press a paper towel over the top to remove additional excess moisture.
Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a fry pan. Add the onions and saute them about 10 minutes over low heat. Add the garlic slices to the pan and saute 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp of honey. Normally the technique to achieve a sweet, carmelized onion is to cook them over very low heat for 30-40 minutes. The addition of honey makes the process quicker and mimics a slow cooked onion. Stir 2 Tbs of fresh thyme leaves into the onions. Add ¼ tsp salt and freshly ground pepper.
Roll out the puff pastry sheet on a floured surface into a 9X13 shape.
Place the puff pastry on a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet.
Puff pastry comes two to a box. Score a 1 inch border around the edge of the rolled out pastry. Cut the pastry into 4 - 1 inch thick strips and place the pieces along the 4 borders of the tart where you have marked the border,
Brush the tart inside the one inch border with the black olive tapenade. Top with the carmelized onions, sprinkle 1 cup of the shredded Parmesan over the onions. Place the tomato slices on top.
Brush the edge of the crust that is exposed with the beaten egg yolk. Sprinkle the crust with salt.
Bake for 25-35 minutes. If the crust starts to brown too much, then tent some aluminum foil just over the crust, being sure not to cover the tomatoes. The best way to achieve this is to cut 4 - 3 inch wide strips of aluminum foil out and place over the crust so that it will not continue to brown while the tomatoes cook.
Remove tart. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle the left over ½ Tbs of fresh thyme leaves on top of the tomatoes. Grind fresh pepper over the tart. At this point, you can choose to serve the tart with just basil leaves sprinkled on top. However, you can also add the ½ cup of shaved parmesan on top and the burrata torn into pieces.
Serve.