Fresh Tomato Tart

I was at my parents’ house recently, and my mom was making me take home tomatoes from their garden.  (That makes it sound like a bad thing–it’s not.)  I guess we were talking about what to do with tomatoes when she announced that a gentleman they know has the best Tomato Tart recipe EVER.  Then she produced a Mobile Bay Monthly that was a couple of years old.  She opened it up, and there was Mr. Elmer Vick’s Tomato Tart recipe.  I hastily scribbled it down.  

Now it’s also my favorite Tomato Tart.  This recipe is deceptively simple.  Frozen puff pastry, tomatoes, cheese, a little Dijon mustard–but the finished product is greater than the sum of its parts.  And it’s good-looking!  The menfolk will eat it, but so will the ladies of the Garden Club.  (Tell your kids it’s a fancy grown-up pizza, and they will eat it, too.)

At my house frozen puff pastry is a staple in my freezer.  Your mileage may vary.  I always have the Pepperidge Farm version, which is easy to find in any grocery store.  And I usually have sliced Swiss cheese for sandwiches.  There’s always a jar of Dijon mustard on the refrigerator door.  All I need to whip up a Tomato Tart anytime is some great tomatoes.

First, drain the tomatoes to reduce some of the liquid. 

You’ll need to thaw puff pastry before you use it.  You can do this overnight in the fridge, or in 30 minutes on the kitchen counter.  Then you run a rolling pin over the thawed pastry, you score a border, and dock the inner part of it.  Here’s how:

First, slice and drain your tomatoes on paper towels.

When your pastry is thawed, sprinkle a little flour on your work surface, then dust your rolling pin with your still-floury hand.  Roll the pastry just enough to flatten it and gain an inch or so in each direction, both lengthwise and width.  Transfer the pastry to your sheet pan. 

With a rounded dinner knife rather than a sharp knife, draw a line all the way around the pastry, 1” inside the outer edge, taking care not to cut the pastry all the way through.  This is your border, and it will get puffed and beautiful.  Take a fork and prick the pastry all over inside the border.  The pricks can go all the way through.  This is called “docking”.  Docking your pastry ensures that the interior of your tart will stay flat while the border puffs.  

After docking, brush the docked part with Dijon, lay the Swiss slices over that, lay the tomato slices over the cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and bake.  

Voila!  A gorgeous, delicious, Fresh Tomato Tart!   Perfect for lunch, a light dinner, even brunch.

Print Recipe

Tomato Tart

Ingredients

• 2 large summer tomatoes, or an equivalent amount of smaller tomatoes, sliced thin
• salt and pepper
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• flour for dusting
• 2 T. Dijon mustard
• 1 8 oz. pkg. sliced Swiss cheese
• 1 T. olive oil
• fresh basil or chives, optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly grease a sheet pan or cover with parchment.
• Arrange the tomato slices between layers of paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 10 minutes to drain.
• Carefully unfold the puff pastry on a floured surface. Roll out slightly to flatten. and enlarge the pastry for about an inch in either direction. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan.
• With a butter knife score all around the pastry, leaving a 1" border from the edges. Use a fork to prick the pastry every inch or so inside of the border. Don't prick between the border and the edges.
• Paint the pastry inside the border with Dijon mustard. Cover the mustard entirely with a layer of sliced Swiss cheese. Arrange the tomato slices over the cheese, overlapping is okay. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Bake for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 350°. Bake another 20 minutes until the edges are puffed and browned.