Every year I manage to break my word and plant far too many tomato plants. And every year I scramble to find a new recipe. Some win...some lose. This one wins big time.
It's simple to make and only takes a few minutes to put together and tastes out of this world. Here is the recipe and some tips.
1 or 2 medium to large tomatoes cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Kosher salt
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (prepackaged is fine...really)
3 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream (see tip below
¼ small onion, thinly sliced, on a mandolin if available
8 ounces goat cheese
6-8 ounces pesto, optional but suggested
basil olive oil, for drizzling
Fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Line a baking sheet with paper towels and put the tomato slices on them. Salt them to help extract some of the water. Hit them with some pepper to taste as well. Cover with more paper towel and let rest for about 15 minutes. Do this first so you can be get the rest of the recipe together.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. Unroll the puff pastry onto a sheet pan with either a silpat silicon baking pad or parchment paper. Prick the inside with a fork making sure to leave a 1/2-inch border. Cover the center of the puff pastry with crème fraîche, but leave the border unbrushed. TIP- No crème fraîche? Use sour cream with some powdered buttermilk mixed in. About 1 tablespoon will do. Another tip: No powdered buttermilk...leave it out.
Place the tomatoes and onion on top of the tart, dot with goat cheese and pesto. Pop in into the oven until puff pastry is browned and poofed up around the edges, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Top with basil chiffonade and serve warm or room temperature.
Bang...take that Martha Stewart.