These past few days I have been sharing recipes for the foods that Mom and I served at our Mom and Daughter tea party last weekend. While everything we ate was delicious, I have been saving the best for last.
We made some Mini Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts, adapted from an Ina Garten recipe in her cookbook titled “Back to Basics” – one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. They are the perfect savory appetizer for any party, and were a rather nice and unexpected addition to our tea party menu.
The sweetness of the tomatoes and goat cheese compliment the buttery puff pastry so very well. The caramelized onions really add to the depth of flavor in these bite-size tarts.
So quick, non-fussy, and utterly delicious.
For the tarts we used puff pastry, making this recipe a breeze to prepare. If you are not a fan of goat cheese, feta or mozzarella would both be a good substitute.
ingredients:
1 package (17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (about 2 large onions)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons water (you could also use a dry white wine)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese
2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 x 11-inch square. Using a 1 ½ -inch-wide biscuit cutter to cut 10-12 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the other puff pastry.
3. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the water, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.
5. Using a sharp paring knife, score a ¼-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a teaspoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border. Be sure you prick plenty of wholes, otherwise the pastry will puff up too much.
6. Place one Tablespoon of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Place slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crumble a couple small pieces of goat cheese on the top of the tomato.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. The bottom sheet pan may need an extra few minutes in the oven. Serve hot or warm. Enjoy!
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Mini Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
About a MomIngredients
- 1 package 17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
- olive oil
- 4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions about 2 large onions
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons water you could also use a dry white wine
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese
- 2 Roma tomatoes thinly sliced
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- 2. Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 x 11-inch square. Using a 1 ½ -inch-wide biscuit cutter to cut 10-12 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the other puff pastry.
- 3. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
- 4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the water, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.
- 5. Using a sharp paring knife, score a ¼-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a teaspoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border. Be sure you prick plenty of wholes, otherwise the pastry will puff up too much.
- 6. Place one Tablespoon of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Place slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crumble a couple small pieces of goat cheese on the top of the tomato.
- 7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. The bottom sheet pan may need an extra few minutes in the oven. Serve hot or warm. Enjoy!
Oh my gosh these are cute! And look so easy to make! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
These look great! I bet they will taste even better when the tomatoes are from our own garden.
That looks and sounds incredibly tasty! I think I’m going to try these for a party I’m hosting soon.
I think goat cheese is stinky and I know the stinkier the cheese, the better! I bet this tastes amazing!
OMGosh! This looks so simple and delicious!
That looks Amazing. I love the recipe/
These look so, so scrumptious! 🙂
Big fan of cheese here so I’m sure I’d love this. I love that it seems easy to make.
Oh wow! These look awesome! I’m so hungry right now!
This looks delicious, I would never have thought to make a cheese and tomato tart. I can’t wait to give this a try, thank you for sharing this recipe.