Labour Day Tomato Tart
/If you're already skilled with pastry, or can quickly whip up some dough from scratch, well who am I to stop you. If you're more like me and your extensive "baking" skills involve defrosting and unrolling a piece of pre-cut puff pastry, well then this is the recipe for you!
You want to begin with a beautiful selection of (preferably heirloom) multi-coloured and wonky shaped tomatoes. A diversity in colour and shape is key if you really want to impress.
Trim and thinly slice the tomatoes so you have a fair amount of round(ish) pieces that you can spread on to the pastry. Obviously, hang on to all the bits you trim off, and use them for a rough salad, or sauce.
Next step: roll out your puff pastry and scatter some flour on some baking paper on a large baking tray. (you can do this all on a cutting board but as I learned the hard way, its then a struggle to transfer the completed tart to the tray). Using a knife, trace a border along the edges. Use a fork to poke some holes in the puff pastry (this will stop the pastry from bubbling up underneath the tomatoes) and begin to lay out the tomatoes within the border.
When the tomatoes are laid out, fold the outer edge all along the border, so you're securing the tomatoes into the pastry. Using a silicone brush (probs best tool for this) brush the tomatoes and pastry with loads of olive oil. Finish off with salt and pepper, crumbled feta or grated parm.
Bake in the oven at 350º-400º for about 20 minutes but keep an eye on it. Keep the light on in the oven if possible, You want the edges of the pastry to begin to crisp up and get golden, but try not to let it burn underneath.
When the tart is golden, turn off the heat but keep the tart in the oven for another 10 minutes or so to allow the moisture to dry out.
Scatter with fresh herbs (basil is best!) and eat right away, later on cold, or even later on reheated!
