Super ripe summer tomatoes taste amazing but they are also very juicy, and all that tomato juice can make for a soggy puff pastry. Sad panda face. Nobody wants gooey play dough puff pastry. We want layers of buttery, flaky, crispy awesomeness. Happy panda face.
Here are some tips:
1. Slice the tomatoes as thin as you can, lay them out on a plate and allow the juices to run out. Reserve the juices for another use. Or sip as you go, chef's treat!. Gently pat dry with tea towels.
2. If using a range of different colored heirlooms, separate the tomatoes by color beforehand. It will make it easier to arrange the different sizes and colors as you're assembling the tart.
3. To ensure proper puffing and crispy, airy layers it's best to thaw frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight (not on a counter) and use it right away. Poke a few holes in the pastry with a fork all over, this is known as docking. The tiny holes allow some air to escape and this will create a flat, even, and crispy bottom vs. uneven puffing + putty and goo from juice seeping into the dough.
4. Pre cook and sprinkle it with an aged hard cheese like parmesan, pecorino, or toscano and bake briefly before adding the tomatoes. I don't always do this, but if you have had soggy tomato tarts in the past, this is the sure fire way to go. Bake it until puffy and still light brown on the bottom, pull it out, quickly layer it up with goat cheese and the tomatoes, and put it back the oven until the cheese is melted and tomatoes are wilted.
I used goat cheese for this tart, then realized ooooh pecorino and sheeps milk feta would probably also work really really well too. I plan on trying that combo out soon. If anyone does it before me, please let me know how it works out! And yes, I think dried oregano would be fine, but if you can score some of the fresh stuff, do it!
Heirloom Tomato Puff Pastry Tart
Ingredients:
1 large sheet of puff pastry
2 lbs of tomatoes
1 cup grated toscano
4 oz of goat cheese (or feta!)
ground pepper to taste
fresh oregano (roughly 1 tsp of flower or leaves)
kosher salt to taste
Directions:
Prep: Night before thaw frozen pastry in the refrigerator.
Slice tomatoes very thin, arrange by color on a plate, and allow the juices to run out and pat dry. Grate the toscano cheese. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out puff pastry onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Poke holes all over with a fork.
Sprinkle the toscano and ground pepper onto the pastry. Bake at 400 degrees on the middle rack until it just begins to puff and is very light brown on the bottom. Remove from oven, dot with goat cheese, and layer with tomatoes. Return the tart to the oven. This is where you will need to cook by feel- it is done when the bottom is deep medium brown, sides are puffy and crispy, tomatoes are wilted, and the goat cheese is melted. Season with kosher salt and garnish with oregano.
Bon appétit!
And thank you to feedfeed and GrowNYC for featuring the recipe!