Tomato Tarts

Summer brings us an excellent selection of tomatoes which are rich and sweet. Don't be tempted to buy large tasteless tomatoes its worth paying a little extra for flavour. Store your tomatoes in a cool place and always eat them at room temperature to get the most from them. This recipe is simple with only a few ingredients but delicious, they make a great starter or a light dinner with an easy rocket salad.

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6 Portions

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Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 10 Minutes

Ingredients

Tomato Tarts

6 medium plum or vine ripened tomatoes (in this recipe I've used red and yellow tomatoes)
6 cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves , crushed
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped finely
2 tsp caster sugar
pinch maldon salt
freshly ground black pepper
500g puff pastry

To Serve

2 tbsp shredded basil
parmesan shavings
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
rocket leaves (optional)

Method

To Prepare: Roll the pastry out on a floured surface so that it is 1cm thick. Cut the pastry out with a 16cm round cutter and place the pastry on a lightly greased oven tray. Leave the pastry to rest for 15 minutes.
Slice the tomatoes into medium slices and the cherry tomatoes in half, place the tomatoes on a plate. Scatter the garlic, thyme, caster sugar, maldon salt and pepper over the tomatoes, and set them aside for a few minutes.
To Cook: Preheat an oven to 200°C. Prick around the pastry with a fork leaving a rim of around 1-1.5cm. Place the tomatoes in overlapping slices around the pastry and place the cherry tomatoes in the centre. Place the tray on the top shelf of the preheated oven and leave the tarts to cook for 8-10 minutes. The pastry should be golden brown and puffed up. Remove the tarts from the oven and serve.
To Serve: Scatter basil over the tarts, and drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place a few parmesan shavings on the tarts. Place the tarts on serving plates accompanied with a few rocket leaves (optional).