This delicious roasted balsamic tomato tart loaded with goat cheese and caramelized leeks makes this an impressive summer light dinner or a show-stopper when entertaining!
When you are trying to figure out at the last minute what to make as an appetizer or lunch, this delicious tart will have your guests thinking you spent all day kitchen. It’s a good idea to have puff pastry in your freeze for times like this. The best part of making this tart is you can change up the ingredients to what you have in your refrigerator.
WHY IS THIS TART A FAMILY FAVOURITE
- Puff pastry is a game-changer for last minute meals. If you have the time, homemade puff pastry would be a wonderful alternative. But we all know, our time is limited when we have busy lives and this frozen puff pastry is a perfect substitution. All you need to do is roll it out flat, score it and brush with egg wash.
- By caramelizing onions it adds this lovely sweetness to your recipe and it makes all the difference in flavour when you combine sweet and tangy, like balsamic vinegar and goat cheese to the mix. It only takes a few minutes to sauté the leeks.
- Whenever I can I will add goat cheese to a recipe. It has a rich and creamy texture and taste sooo good!
- I will always recommend a good quality balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil when I making a special recipe for best results. Both of these are from Greece and any Mediterranean countries have incredible flavourful and premium quality extra virgin olive oil.
MAKING THESE YUMMY TARTS
Roll out puff pastry and cut into 4 sections. Score the edges about 1 inch deep and fold over half 1/2 inch to create the edges. Poke with fork and brush with egg wash. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Cook leeks in a large skillet over medium heat until caramelized. Add garlic. In a medium bowl, combine tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Spread the caramelized leek and garlic and add dollops of goat cheese and add tomatoes and drizzle with remaining evoo and balsamic over each tart. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and tomatoes are softened.
Finish off with a drizzle with some evoo and balsamic vinegar and top with arugula or mixed greens. These delicious tarts are so easy to make and the results are incredibly delicious!!
I love making savory tarts especially when local tomatoes are in season. Since it’s May here in Ontario, we can purchase hydroponic tomatoes that are grown in greenhouses without the use of pesticides and surprisingly they are firm and so sweet, and I love the variety. Whether you use store-bought puff pastry or make your own, this recipe is a such crowd-pleaser whether you are entertaining or planning to have a light dinner.
FEW TIPS
Puff Pastry should be taken out the night before to thaw in the refrigerator or 2 hours before you start making this recipe, leaving it at room temperature. When scoring the edges, use a sharp knife but make sure you don’t cut through the pastry For this recipe I folded the edges over toward the centers to create volume around the edges but you can just leave it scored and it will still puff up. Poke holes with a fork in the centers to prevent it from rising. Some areas will rise, and once you remove it from the oven it will flatten, so worries.
Sauté the leeks until they are caramelized, turning to a golden colour and if you don’t have leeks at home, you can substitute with red onion, a sweet onion or shallots.
I used heirloom cherry tomatoes or they are sometimes called gourmet cherry tomatoes and any red cherry or grape tomatoes can be substituted. Coat them with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar as I suggested, fresh basil, salt and pepper.
Goat cheese adds a perfect tangy and creamy flavour and texture to these tarts. I will use goat cheese over most cheeses in my recipes. It’s perfect since it spreads easily and I simply added dollops over the caramelized leeks. If you don’t have goat cheese on hand, you can substituted for feta or cream cheese but you will need to whip them for a smoother texture. Other options are ricotta cheese, camembert, brie, soft buffalo, or mozzarella cheese.
WAYS TO SERVE A TOMATO TART
This delicious tart can be served on it own as an appetizer when you have a crowd or enjoy it with a side salad for a light dinner. Try these delicious salads:
Balsamic Tomato Tart With Caramelized Leeks And Goat Cheese
Equipment
- large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I use Greek Chrisopigi olive oil)
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 8 oz gourmet cherry tomatoes (2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons basil, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 1 cup goat cheese, softened
- pinch of pepper
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the pastry and place it on the lined baking sheet. Cut into 4 sections. Using a sharp knife, score the pastry, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in from the edge. Then fold over about half the measurement to create a height on the edges. If you prefer, you can leave the edges scored without folding. Brush with egg wash over the edges and center of the tarts, then poke holes with a fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes until it’s lightly golden. Remove and set aside to cool.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then add leeks and sauté for 6-8 minutes until softened and starts to caramelize, a golden colour. Add garlic for the last 30 minutes, long enough to release the aroma. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Spread the caramelized leek and garlic over each tart section. Add large dollops of goat cheese and then gently press the tomatoes into the cheese, and drizzle any remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture left in the bowl over each tart section.
- Bake until the pastry has risen, turned golden brown, and the tomatoes are softened and started to burst, for approximately 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and if you prefer you can drizzle some more olive oil and balsamic vinegar over each tart. Garnish with parsley. Serve with arugula or salad.
