Chef Veera

Tomato & Pesto – A Match Made In Heaven!

Simple tomato and pesto tarts make for a great summer appetizer or light dinner. Super easy, and yet impressive, the store-bought puff pastry topped with citrusy and herby goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and pesto get a final flourish of spicy microgreens tossed in Basil EVOO.

I love the ease of this recipe, but don’t forget to score the pastry to create a ½ inch border so that the tarts look pretty and the pastry provides a nice edge to hold in all that tomato, goat cheese and microgreen goodness!

BE BRAVE and replace the goat cheese with torn burrata (which you can add at the end when you remove the tarts from the oven) or seasoned ricotta, used just like the goat cheese mixture.

Enjoy the end of season tomatoes – happy tart-making!

Tomato, Pesto and Microgreen Tarts

Ingredients

(* indicates my preferred ingredients – see notes for alternatives)

4 oz goat cheese (or vegan cream cheese)

Zest of one lemon

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on how lemony you like it)

1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves

16-24 cherry tomatoes (I like to use a combination of yellow & red)

1 sheet puff pastry (cut into 9 equal squares)

9 teaspoon O&V Pesto alla Genovese *

Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Arugula or salad micro greens

O&V Basil EVOO for brushing and drizzling *

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425F

In a bowl, mix together the goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and thyme till smooth and well combined. Slice the tomatoes.

Roll out the pastry dough and cut into 9 equal rectangles. Place the pastry squares on a parchment covered sheet pan (you may need two pans to space out the pastry). With a knife, make a score mark about ½ inch from the edge of the rectangles creating a border. Spread equal portions of the goat cheese on each pastry square leaving the border around it. Layer the tomatoes on top of the goat cheese leaving the border uncovered.

Lightly season with salt and pepper and brush the edges (border) with a little Basil EVOO. Place in the hot oven and bake for 18-20 minutes till golden in color and crisp. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly

Dot a teaspoon of Pesto on each square.  Top each square with the micro greens drizzled with a little Basil EVOO, and a grind of black pepper.

Serves 6-8

Active time 15 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes

Notes

* The Pesto alla Genovese is one of my absolute favorite products with its beautiful clean basil taste. It is also vegan (for those who want to just top pasta with it) and an easy way to add amazing flavor to fish, chicken, pasta and more. You can use a home-made pesto if you prefer.

The Basil EVOO adds a nice sheen and flavor to the crust, but you can also use a good quality Unflavored EVOO instead.

All the highlighted products are available at Oil & Vinegar stores.

Categories: Entrée, Appetizer, Easy Weeknight Meal, Light Lunch, Vegetarian, Tomato Tart, Herbed Goatcheese, Pesto alla Genovese, Basil EVOO, Unflavored EVOO, Summer Eating, Cherry Tomatoes, Spicy Microgreens,