Tomato Tarts—Yum

I've been cooking again. It's one thing to make dinner every evening, and it's another thing entirely to make something fun for dinner.

This time around, the fun thing was a tomato tart with feta cheese and caramelized onions. If you're the type to make your own puff pastry, then this is a complicated dish, but if you're content with the frozen stuff, which I am, then it's relatively simple.

Here is what they look like fully assembled before baking:

And this is what they look like fresh out of the oven:

My only complaint is the wasted puff pastry, but if you make these smaller using sliced Roma tomatoes and serve them as appetizers, then you would probably not be throwing out so much pastry dough.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

1 package puff pastry, thawed
Olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
3 large garlic cloves cut into thin slivers
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces goat cheese
1 large tomato cut into 4 slices (1/4-inch thick)
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves
2 ounces Parmesan cheese shaved

Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 x 11 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.

Preheat oven to 425˚.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Sauté for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine and the thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the border.

Place one fourth of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of the 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. Scatter 4 or 5 shards of Parmesan on each tart.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics