Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Thyme

This simple tart — made using all-butter frozen puff pastry — is a great way to show off heirloom tomatoes at the height of the season, but it’s also the best use for less-than-stellar tomatoes, whose flavor will intensify and deepen in the oven. We wrote about it in an August 2020 story about tomatoes, part of our Summer Produce Special series.

We made the tart using one pound of regular-size heirloom tomatoes and a quarter pound of heirloom cherry tomatoes, but you can use all regular-size, if you like. If you prefer crumbled feta to the goat cheese, that should work just fine as well.

Eat it just out of the oven, or room temperature. If you have any leftover tart you want to eat the next day, reheat it in a hot, dry skillet so the bottom crisps back up.

Serves 8 as an appetizer or 4 to 6 as a main course.

Ingredients

1 pound regular-size tomatoes, sliced thin (about 1/8-inch or less)

4 ounces cherry tomatoes, sliced thin (about 1/8-inch or less)

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

One 14-ounce package frozen all-butter puff pastry, thawed

3/4 teaspoon Maldon or other flaky sea salt (or to taste)

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh thyme and/or oregano leaves

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lay the tomatoes in a single layer on paper-towel-lined sheet pans or cutting boards (you’ll probably need two). Sprinkle the fine sea salt over them and let them sit for 10 or 15 minutes so they give up some of their moisture.

2. While the tomatoes are weeping, gently unfold the puff pastry on a lightly floured board and use a rolling pin to roll it a bit thinner, so that it is 15 inches long and 11 inches wide. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and use a fork to poke holes in about 12 places, avoiding a border about half an inch around the perimeter.

3. Use another paper towel to gently blot moisture from the top of the tomatoes. Then arrange the large tomato slices, slightly overlapping them, to cover the whole tart except for a 1/2-inch tomato-free border. Arrange the cherry tomato slices on top of them, using them to fill in gaps where necessary so that the dough is all covered. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the Maldon salt, then distribute the goat cheese on top. Season generously with black pepper, and strew the thyme and/or oregano leaves on top. (If the oregano leaves are large, you might tear them in half.)

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crust is nicely golden brown and crisp. Do not underbake or the crust will be soggy under the tomatoes. Slice the parchment with the tart onto a cutting board, cut into pieces and serve, or serve once it is room-temperature.