North of the equator, August is peak tomato season for most of us. It’s the perfect time to try out this recipe that is truly a showstopper. Perfect for a light Sunday meal served with a light side salad, tossed with your favourite vinaigrette, and a glass of cold Sauvignon Blanc. The puff pastry is delightfully flaky, buttery and fun to eat, while the tomatoes, shallots and gruyere cheese are a balanced combination of sweet, salty and savoury. Each tart looks like an original piece of art, almost too good looking to eat . . . but who are we kidding . . . this tart will be devoured in minutes.
Serves 4
3 to 4 medium slicing tomatoes
1 to 2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
4 shallots thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 thyme sprigs
1 package frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 egg for egg wash
Salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
- Remove frozen puff pastry dough and thaw (follow package instructions).
- Slice tomatoes ¼ thick and place slices on a baking tray lined with paper towels.
- Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and let tomatoes rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour to drain excess moisture.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- While tomatoes rest, thinly slice shallots lengthwise.
- Melt butter in a pan on medium heat, then add shallots, maple syrup and thyme sprigs and cook shallots, stirring occasionally, until golden brown then remove from heat.
- Season shallots with salt and pepper to taste (careful to not oversalt).
- Following puff pastry package instructions roll out or unfold pastry to approximately 10” by 14” (approximately size of your baking sheet) and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Using a pastry cutter (fluted, if available) or knife, cut strips of the puff pastry by cutting half inch strips around the perimeter of the puff pastry sheet.
- Place strips on top of the outer edges of the pastry sheet to create a raised border.
- Using a pastry brush paint the pastry sheet with dijon mustard (do not paint raised border).
- Distribute grated gruyere cheese and shallots evenly over the pastry sheet, avoiding the raised border.
- In a single layer, place tomatoes on top of cheese and shallots and sprinkle one tablespoon of fresh thyme evenly over tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Beat egg and using the pastry brush, egg wash the raiser border.
- Bake tart at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown and raised.
- Allow to cool for ten minutes, then cut into slices and serve warm.
Recipe created by Trevor at Gluggable.
