Last Updated on June 19, 2021
Click to skip straight to the tomato tart with puff pastry recipe
Do you find that supermarket tomatoes can be a bit bland? For something like this Tomato Tart, you really need good quality tomatoes – the sort that are packed with flavour. Ideally, they’ll be freshly picked from the garden, but at this time of year, that’s just not possible! I’ve been walking around London a great deal this year. Let’s face it, there’s been little else to do for large swathes of time. On the positive side, this has meant that I discovered a beautiful Farmers’ Market only half an hours walk from home. On my first visit back in December, I enquired of one of the stalls how long they had been there and it turned out to be six years! Six years and I hadn’t even been aware of its existence. A real treasure that has become a regular destination for me on Saturdays.
Even better, there’s a fabulous tomato stall with tomatoes of myriad colours and sizes, all grown on the Isle of Wight. I love tomatoes (in any form) and these are tomatoes to dream of. The cherries burst with flavour and juice in your mouth and are almost like a refreshing little drink. And they are incredible to cook with. Never has a pizza tasted so fresh. So they inspired me to make this delightful, tomato tart with puff pastry. It’s ideal for a light lunch for four or cut into bite-sized pieces as a snack or canapes with drinks.
I used ready-rolled puff pastry as it makes it even easier but of course you could make your own. All topped with a mix of yellow plum and red cherry tomatoes which makes for a beautifully vibrant and tasty tart. And I found some beautiful Greek basil in the shops which I could resist.
Unroll the puff pastry and trim the edges if it needs tidying up. Score a line through the pastry around the edge, about 1cm inside the rectangle. Make sure not to cut all the way through. Score around the edge in a criss-cross pattern and brush with the beaten egg.
Spread the inside of the rectangle with your onion mix. I used caramelised onion chutney today which brought an extra sweetness to my tart. It works just as well if you caramelise the onions yourself, frying in a little oil and water until they are soft, sweet and browned.
Cut your tomatoes in half and spread on top of the onion, alternating between red and yellow.
Place the tart in the oven at 180C for about 25 minutes until the pastry has risen and is golden and the tomatoes have softened. Top generously with individual leaves of Greek basil before serving.
Cut into four for a light lunch for two. You could serve it with a rocket salad tossed with olive oil and lemon juice.
Or into bite-size portions as a treat with drinks or for a picnic.
Do you love tomatoes as much as I do? Why not try this recipe using fresh hake fillets and cherry tomatoes?
Here’s a printable version of my delicious tomato tart recipe for you. Enjoy!
Tomato tart with puff pastry
Ingredients
- 375 g puff pastry ready rolled
- 1 egg beaten
- 3 tbsps onion caramelised
- 24 cherry tomatoes
- 1 handful basil (I used Greek basil)
Instructions
- Unroll the puff pastry or roll out a large oblong if you are using homemade pastry
- Score a line through the pastry (not cutting all the way through) about 1cm inside the rectangle. Score around the edge in a criss-cross pattern.
- Brush around the edge with beaten egg.
- Spread the onion mix evenly over the rectangle inside your score marks.
- Cut your tomatoes into half and lay evenly cut side up on top of the onion. I used a mix of red and yellow for a colourful finished product.
- Cook in the oven at 180C for about 25 minutes until the pastry is golden and has risen and the tomatoes have softened.
- Serve warm with a green salad.
Nutrition
Did you know that tomatoes are a relatively new ingredient in the UK? It’s a fruit (not a vegetable!) that is native to South and Central America and it was only discovered in 1519. The seeds were brought back to Europe and planted as ornamental curiosities. It didn’t really become widely eaten until the 18th century – partly because it looks a bit like other poisonous plants and partly because the high acidity meant that when tomatoes were cut and served on the pewter plates of the 16th and 17th century, they caused lead to leech out into the food, resulting in lead poisoning and death!
But, you can be sure that this tomato tart with puff pastry won’t poison you! You can make it advance and store it in the fridge or covered a cool larder for a couple of days. It isn’t the best thing to freeze, though if you let it defrost then pop it back in the oven to warm through it will make an easy meal. That said, tomato tart is really quick to make, particularly if you use shop-bought puff pastry. So why not make it fresh and enjoy it at its best.
This looks amazing – can’t wait to try it!
This looks great and so simple.
It really is so simple and you won’t believe how absolutely delicious it tastes.