Summer – when tomatoes are fresh and local; fresh herbs everywhere. I joke that I feel like I am in master-chef, running out to get a tomato or fresh herbs from the garden. Another month or so and I will be back to dried herbs and winter vegetables. It is good while it lasts.

I saw a post in a food group of a tomato tart. It looked scrumptious and I decided to make it for dinner. I usually keep some puff pastry in the freezer and so this was one of those quick weekday dinners. Pair it with a salad if you want. Since I cannot eat cheese and can tolerate some goat cheese, I made a quarter of the tart without cheese and sprinkled some goat cheese and even the cheese eaters enjoyed that part. If you are vegan, leave the cheese out. I always make my pesto with no cheese (Oh my!) and then whoever wants cheese adds cheese on it. For vegan options, leave cheese out or use vegan cheese

Ingredients

• puff pastry 1 sheet (I used store bought Wewalka Puff pastry as it did not have lard and many of them do. This is made with canola oil)
• 3 pesto (grind basil, roasted pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and garlic)- recipe: or store bought pesto
• 1 tbsp pesto
• 2- tomatoes- sliced 1/4 inch thick
• sliced fresh mozzarella or 3/4 cup goat cheese or ricotta cheese
• 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
• fresh basil
• extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• salt, pepper and crushed red pepper

Directions

• Slice tomatoes. Place on paper towels or colander and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. Let sit for 15 minutes. This allows the salt to draw out the moisture and the pastry does not get soggy
• Heat oven to 400°F ( 200°C)
• Roll out puff pastry onto a parchment paper on a sheet pan.
• Prick the pastry with a fork leaving a 1/2 inch border so it does not puff up
• Bake crust for 10 minutes
• Sprinkle crust with parmesan cheese
• Remove crust and brush pesto on the crust
• Layer tomatoes and cheese on top of the crust, overlapping slightly, within the borders. Tuck in some basil leaves. Drizzle with a tsp of olive oil and some crushed red pepper
• Bake the tart for 20-30 minutes, rotating halfway through
• Remove from oven, drizzle with more olive oil or some pesto thinned out with olive oil.
• Serve warm