Tiny Tomato Tarts Recipes

ANNA'S TOMATO TART

Steps:

• Place the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas. Add the egg yolks and pulse a few times to combine. With the motor running, add the ice water through the feed tube and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and roll it into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Meanwhile, place the tomatoes in a large bowl. Put the parsley, basil, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until finely minced. With the processor running, pour the olive oil down the feed tube and process until combined. Pour the mixture over the tomatoes and toss gently. Set aside.
• On a well-floured board, roll the dough out to an 11 x 17-inch rectangle and transfer it to the prepared sheet pan. Don't worry if it doesn't fit exactly; you want it to cover most of the bottom of the pan but it can be a little rough on the sides. Place a second sheet pan directly on the pastry and bake for 15 minutes. (You can also line the pastry with foil and fill it with dried beans.) Remove the top sheet pan (or the beans and foil). Using a dinner fork, pierce the pastry in many places. Bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Check the pastry during baking; pierce any spots that bubble up. Allow the crust to cool for 15 minutes.
• Lower the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the mustard on the crust with a pastry brush. Sprinkle a thick even layer of Gruyere on the pastry, reserving 1/2 cup for the top, and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Place overlapping tomatoes in rows on top. If there is a little garlic and herb mixture in the bowl, sprinkle it over the tomatoes, but if there is liquid in the bowl, strain it through a very-fine-mesh strainer, discard the liquid, and sprinkle the garlic and herb mixture on the tomatoes. Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup of Gruyere and the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan on top. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Cool slightly, cut into squares, and serve warm or at room temperature.

TINY TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven toe 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Beat softened margarine or butter and cream cheese until thoroughly combined. Stir in flour.
• Using 24 ungreased 1 3/4 inch mini muffin cups, press a rounded teaspoon of pastry evenly into the bottom and up the sides of each cup.
• To Make The Filling: Beat the egg and mix in the brown sugar, melted margarine or butter and the chopped pecans.
• Fill each pastry-lined muffin cup with about 1 heaping teaspoon of pecan filling. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is puffed. Cool slightly in the muffin cups, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

CHERRY TOMATO TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Place the pie crust in a pie pan, then trim and crimp the edges. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until it has started to harden. Remove it from the oven and cool.
• Place a skillet on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions have browned. Add the onion mixture to the pie crust. Sprinkle 2/3 of the Parmesan cheese on top of the pie crust and then add the cherry tomatoes on top. Make sure the cherry tomatoes really fill the pie: err on the side of overfilling rather than underfilling. They will settle as they bake. Sprinkle the thyme, the remaining Parmesan cheese and the salt on top.
• Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes start to brown and pop a little bit. Remove from the oven, garnish with additional thyme and cool before serving. Do note that this dish starts to fall apart once you begin cutting, so try to serve it all at once if possible.
• Stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Add in the butter using two knives or a spoon, but try not to use your hands too much because you want the mixture to stay as cool as possible. You can also combine the dry ingredients with the butter in a food processor, using the pulse setting. The objective is to get the butter incorporated with the flour, creating pea-size pieces.
• Slowly add in the water and mix until it just comes together as a dough. The amount varies depending on the type of flour and butter you use; it may take more or less liquid to bring together. Dump the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, press together in a round, wrap well and chill for at least an hour.
• To roll out, flour a work surface well and divide the dough in half. Using a rolling pin (or an empty wine bottle if you don't have one), roll out each half into a 1/8-inch-thick round, creating two crusts. The crusts are now ready to be used.

TOMATO AND GOAT CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11-inch square. Using a 6-inch wide saucer or other round object as a guide, cut 2 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the second pastry sheet to make 4 circles in all. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• 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 wine, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.
• Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border.
• Place 1/4 of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Finally, scatter 4 or 5 shards of Parmesan on each tart.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. The bottom sheet pan may need an extra few minutes in the oven. Serve hot or warm.

CARAMELIZED TOMATO TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unfold puff pastry sheet and cut into a 10-inch round; chill, covered, until ready to use.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and a pinch of sugar and cook, stirring, until onions are golden and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and let cook off, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan. Transfer onions to a bowl.
• In a clean, ovenproof 9-inch skillet, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water. Cook over medium heat, swirling pan gently (do not stir) until sugar melts and turns amber, 5 to 10 minutes. Add vinegar and swirl gently.
• Sprinkle olives over caramel. Scatter tomatoes over olives, then sprinkle onions on. Season with thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Top with puff pastry round, tucking edges into pan. Cut several long vents in top of pastry.
• Bake tart until crust is puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then run a knife around pastry to loosen it from pan, and flip tart out onto a serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.