Easy Summer Tomato Tart with Artichoke Spread

"Are you saving this pizza for me?" My husband had been out of town on a quick trip with a friend to San Diego, and plopped his suitcase on a chair before wandering into the kitchen. He eyed me hopefully - with the I-think-I'm-starving-and-I-might-die look. "It's a tart, and you don't even really like tomatoes!" It was true, and I had been hoping to have this gorgeous little tart all to myself. All of it. Every last crumb. But somewhere in there, he heard a "Yes, honey! Please help yourself!" and promptly folded a piece in half, and wolfed it down in two quick bites before reaching for another.

Any further conversation (and eating stealing food) was cut off when we realized our dog, Rika (pronounced Reeka), had something painfully wrong with her ear. She was hunched over, tilting her head to the side, and occasionally yelping sharply in pain. So off we dashed to the closest 24-hour vet hospital, a tightly winding 1-hour drive down the mountain to Reno, with Rika nestled in my husband's lap. Two hours later the vet extracted a foxtail from deep inside her ear - a souvenir from a wild run through the tall grasses out back. By the time she woke up and we made our way back home, it was too late to consider eating.

And this is why I can say without any reservations that this tart is fantastic fresh from the oven, BUT makes a very nice little breakfast with some eggs as well. The pastry was a little soggy the next day, but honestly that didn't slow us down a bit. I just heated it up in our trusty toaster oven, and doled out half to my husband. After all, it seemed only right to share after we'd been up half the night together with our baby. I'm not completely selfish when it comes to my food.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Easy Summer Tomato Tart with Artichoke Spread

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Appetizer

Servings: 16 appetizers

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

• 1 17.3 ounce package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
• 1 large heirloom tomato
• 8 - 10 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons Jimtown's Artichoke Olive, and Caper Spread (or make this one!)
• 2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Basil

Instructions

• Thaw one pastry sheet, and roll it out into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, slice four strips, each 1-inch wide from the pastry, and place them along the edges of the pastry sheet. It will look like the frame around a picture when you're done. Light press them down. Dock the pastry with a fork, meaning poke the pastry sheet (not the frame) a bunch of times with a fork.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until crisply browned. Remove and cut a couple of slits in the baked pastry if it's bowed up in the middle, and gently press flat. Do this while it's still warm.
• Slice the large tomato into ¼" thick slices and place in a single layer on paper towels to drain for 10 - 15 minutes. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half.
• Spread the artichoke spread on the bottom of the tart, completely covering it in a thin layer. If you have some left over, keep it for spreading on top of the tomatoes. Arrange the tomatoes in the tart shell in a single layer on top of the artichoke spread. Sprinkle on the cheeses, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
• Finish with a little flurry of basil just before serving. Slice into 2-bite pieces using a pizza wheel, and serve warm.

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