One More Tomato Tart!

Have you ever just forgotten about a recipe that you used to make? I needed an appetizer for a recent get together and looked over at the basket of tomatoes on the counter and suddenly this old favorite popped into my mind. It’s a take on the classic dish pissaladiere of southern France. The French version features sauteed onions, olives and anchovies. This tart calls for the slow cooked onions, olives and anchovies, but also uses tomatoes. I left off the anchovies this time since I wasn’t sure how everyone would feel about them. As luck would have it, I had a piece of my homemade puff pastry in the freezer and it was the perfect base for these savory ingredients.

Tomato Tart

Frozen puff pastry-2 sheets thawed and rolled to fit 12″ x 16″ baking sheet
1 lb. onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
2 teaspoons fresh basil, minced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 head garlic, roasted*
1/3 cup grated parmesan
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut 1/8″ thick
2 oz. anchovies, drained and halved lengthwise
20 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive over medium-low heat in skillet. Add onions and half of minced herbs and cook until onions are very soft. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the roasted garlic, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Press puff pastry into pan and up sides. Prick the surface with a fork and then scatter with half of the cheese. Top with the tomato onion mixture. Lay the sliced tomatoes over the top and brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Top with anchovies, olives, remaining cheese and minced herbs.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

*To make roasted garlic-preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut about 1/2″ off the top of the head of garlic. Place garlic head on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Close up foil into a little bundle and cook for about 30 minutes. You don’t want garlic to burn, it should be soft and will easily pop out of its skin when squeezed.