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Thursday, March 26, 2009

Tomato & Goat Cheese Tartlettes

I'm in love with these tomato & goat cheese tarts! This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe was chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry...and I'm gonna have to say that this is one of my favorite Ina recipes (that I've made) to date! Ina uses frozen puff pastry...hallelujiah...so when I was at the market to pick up a few ingredients, I figured I would pick up some sheets of it in the freezer section. WRONG! They were on sale this week (yay!), but they were all gone...waa, waaa, waaaa. On the other hand, they had the box with the individual (6) shells of puff pastry (also on sale), so I picked up a couple boxes of those. Basically, I ended up making mini-tarts. They were so perfect as little appetizers or to have a couple with a nice salad as a meal! I will make these again, in any size...often.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

1 pkg puff pastry, defrosted
4 c. thinly sliced yellow onions
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
salt & pepper
3 Tbs dry white wine
2 tsp minced, fresh thyme leaves
4 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz garlic & herb goat cheese
1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4" thick) slices
3 Tbs julienned Basil leaves
2 oz Parmesan cheese, shaved w/ a vegetable peeler

Unfold sheet of puff pastry on lightly floured surface & roll lightly to an 11x11" square. Using a 6" wide round object as guide, cut 2 circles from each sheet or simply place the convenient, already formed mini shells on pan. Place on parchment lined sheet pan(s).

Preheat oven to 425° F par bake if using mini shells.

Heat 3 Tbs of olive oil in large skillet over medium to low heat and ad the onions and garlic. Saute for 15-20 minutes, stirring, until onions are limp and almost no moisture remains. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, the wine & thyme and continue to cook until onions are caramelized. Remove from heat.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4" wide border around each pastry circle or use the pre-fab shells for minis, like I did. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a Tbs. of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside scored border.

Evenly divide onion mixture over each circle. Now do the same w/ the goat cheese and tomatoes. Lightly brush each w/ olive oil Sprinkle w/ basil, salt and pepper. Scatter a few shards of Parmesan on each tart.


Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or warm. I thought they were pretty good chilled, too!

Seriously...these were killer! You know that flakiness of the pastry and the sweetness of the caramelized onions with the melt-in-your-mouth, warm goat cheese...rich and addicting.

Check out what more Barefoot Bloggers did with this Ina recipe here!

update 6/26/11: I am sharing this with Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays: Appetizers

Would you like to comment?

  1. I love your little tarts. I thought they would be great as an hors d'oeuvre - you have proved me right. I'll have to try that next time.

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  2. I love these tarts in the puff pastry shells! Yummy!

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  3. Those look freakin fabulous girlichef! I could eat about, say 12 right now, so save me a few...right huh, lol

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  4. Great idea! Will try this next time and avoid the rolling and cutting. The BBs are a smart bunch, no?

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  5. Those look great! The little tartlets are adorable, too.

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  6. These might be my favorite Ina recipe too! They were so simple and yummy! Yours look fabulous!

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  7. These look so delicious! Puff pastry and caramelized onions? Bring it on!!

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  8. oh my goodness! these look TO DIE FOR! I would pop several into my mouth all at once. goat cheese and tomatoes is the perfect marriage I think!

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  9. YUM!!!! Those might be showing up at one of my wine tasting parties!

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  10. Your tarts look terrific. I've got to try these.
    Drop by my kitchen when you get a chance. I have an award for you.
    Sam

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  11. Tomato tarts are the best! These are so cute and delicious! I've never made mine with goat cheese. Making these is what I live for in the Summer, with fresh tomatoes from my garden-yum!!!

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  12. I love the little tarts--they look so cute and would be fun for a smalllunch or dinner party. Great job!

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  13. Those look so cute! I wish I had done mine smaller (or been smart like you and gotten the shells).

    ~Cat

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  14. Adorable! The mini tart shells sound like the perfect vehicle for your tomato and goat cheese tarts.

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  15. The shells seem perfect for this recipe! Next time I make them that is what I will use. They look so party perfect.

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  16. those mini tarts are so cute! i love tomato tarts. mmmm.

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  17. This looks wonderful! I love Ina Garten and I probably wouldn't have tried this because I'm not a fan of goat cheese but I bet it would be terrific with feta!! Thanks for a yummy post!!

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  18. These look marvelous!! Absolutely perfect for a party treat. You did an amazing job!!

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  19. Man, Am I diggin these~ Everytime I come over here to your blog, my whole family starts to dance around the computer!

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  20. I am in love with a tart. Must make these when I get home. THANK YOU!

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  21. Your tarts look so pretty! It sounds like a great flavor combination.

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  22. You are so smart to use the shells! What a great idea! They were delicous, weren't they?

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  23. Those look amazingly delicious! We loved these.

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  24. Yes, very addictive and so delicious! My favorite BB recipe so far, too.

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  25. love the little tart shells. that's a great idea for turning these into party appetizers since my friend just mentioned me making these for their housewarming party. i loved these so much, this was one of my most favorite recipes of the group so far! :)

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  26. I can almost taste these! Creamy goat cheese, savory onions and tomato - sigh!

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  27. Yummy!!!! My sisters and I just started our first themed blog hop over at http://everydaysisters.blogspot.com every Sunday!. This weeks theme is appetizers. We would love for you to come over and share these or any of your favorite appetizer recipes with our blog readers. Have a great weekend.
    Nanci

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  28. Thank you for posting this recipe on Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays - Appetizers!! This weeks theme is CHICKEN. Please come back and post some of your favorite chicken recipes to share with our followers. We hope to see you there!

    http://everydaysisters.blogspot.com/2011/07/everyday-sisters-sharing-sundays-2.html

    Ellen

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  29. I must say I don't think these LOOK particularly appetizing...not that I care, I'd eat food that looked like poop if it tasted good.  and the fact that these are pastry, tomato and cheese makes it right up my alley!  Yumm

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