Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

Submitted by SweetSueAl

"From America's Test Kitchen. A recipe designed to render a crispy crust. They say: "Thawing the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight will help prevent cracking while unfolding it. Be sure to use a low-moisture supermarket mozzarella sold in block form, not fresh water-packed mozzarella. If you prefer to do some advanced preparation, the tart shell can be prebaked through step 1, cooled to room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, and kept at room temperature for up to two days before being topped and baked with the mozzarella and tomatoes. ""

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• unbleached all-purpose flour, for work surface
• 1 1⁄8 lbs puff pastry, thawed in box in refrigerator overnight
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1 lb plum tomato, cored and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 to 4 medium)
• table salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ground black pepper
• 8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

directions

1. Brush egg along one edge of one sheet of puff pastry. Overlap with second sheet of dough by 1 inch and press to seal pieces together.
2. With rolling pin, smooth out seam. Dough should measure about 18 by 9 inches. Use pizza wheel or knife to trim edges straight.
3. With pizza wheel or knife, cut 1-inch strip from long side of dough. Cut another 1-inch strip from same side.
4. Cut 1-inch strip from short side of dough. Cut another 1-inch strip from same side. Transfer pieces of dough to parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with egg.
5. Gently press long strips of dough onto each long edge of dough and brush with egg. Gently press short strips of dough onto each short edge and brush with egg.
6. With pizza wheel or knife, trim excess dough from corners.
7. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
8. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over shell; using fork, uniformly and thoroughly poke holes in shell.
9. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes longer.
10. Transfer to wire rack; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
11. While shell bakes, place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes.
12. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes.
13. Combine garlic, olive oil, and pinch each salt and pepper in small bowl; set aside.
14. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over warm (or cool, if made ahead) baked shell. Shingle tomato slices widthwise on top of cheese (about 4 slices per row); brush tomatoes with garlic oil. Bake until shell is deep golden brown and cheese is melted, 15 to 17 minutes.
15. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, sprinkle with basil, slide onto cutting board or serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.

Reviews

[KellyMac6]

I had gone to post this awhile ago from my ATK cookbook and I saw you already beat me to it!This is excellent, though I did make a few changes in processes which I hope you don't mind. I only used one sheet of puff pastry and just smoothed the folds with my fingers. Then rather than cut off the side pieces I just folded the outside in about 1/2 inch the whole way around. I did poke thoroughly before baking but it puffed up a lot, which really didn't end up being a problem, I was just surprised by the size of it lol. To the tomatoes I added salt as well as sprinkled them liberally with garlic powder. Even though the pastry was all puffed up I just laid the tomatoes on top and once it baked the juices deflated the pastry a little. This was so yummy. I served it as a side to a steak salad and it made a perfect dinner. Thank you for the recipe!

 

[GretchenAClark]

This is really delicious and a crowd pleaser. Made it for a Christmas party and the colors are quite festive, although I'll be anxious to try this in the summer when tomatos are in season and even more delicious.