2 Savory Tarts, and how to roast tomatoes.

We had a delicious Easter dinner yesterday, dijon and garlic roasted rack of lamb, maple glazed carrots and parsnips, steamed asparagus with slivers of garlic, and mashed potatoes.

We also had a friend join us who is a vegetarian, so I made her 2 different tarts using 1 package of puff pastry. The first was a tapenade and roasted tomato tart, and the second was a marinated mini mozzarella, basil and fresh tomato tart with oregano.

Both were incredibly easy and absolutely delicious!

Begin with the DuFour Puff Pastry. Defrost in the refrigerator for a couple hours. While the pastry defrosts, thinly slice 3 campari tomatoes and lay them on either an olive oil rubbed cookie sheet, or better use a Silpat sheet. Drizzle the tomatoes with a little olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt, a little Italian seasoning, and a good couple grinds of black pepper. Bake in the oven at 325 for 15-20 minutes, They should be shriveled, but not burnt. You can store these tomatoes in a little olive oil in a jar or tupperware in the fridge for a couple weeks.

Next, marinate the mozzarella. You can also do this 1 day in advance.
1 C. fresh drained mozzarella ( I used the tiny mozzarella balls)
1/4 C. olive oil
3 cubes frozen garlic
pinch of kosher salt
couple grinds of black pepper

Combine all ingredients and let mozzarella marinate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

To make Tapenade Tart:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut DuFour Puff pastry in half, (half is for this tart, the other half is for the other tart). Place the puff pastry on a silpat lined cookie sheet or a cookie sheet brushed with olive oil. If you can't find puff pastry, you can also bake off a pie crust and make something similar.

Spoon enough pre-purchased olive tapenade to cover the tart, leaving just a little of the edges showing. Lay the roasted tomatoes over the tapenade and sprinkle a small amount of grated Parmesan cheese of the tomatoes.

Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the tart is golden brown. Remove and cut into slices. Serve while hot.

To make the Mozzarella tart:

I baked both tarts at the same time on different cookie sheets. Lay the other half of the puff pastry on a cookie sheet (same as above) and lay out tiny mozzarella in row, leaving room for a row of sliced tomatoes between each row.

I used a couple of the fresh campari tomatoes,(not roasted) sliced them into thin slices, and squeezed the seeds and juice out with my hands so I just had the "meat" of the tomato. I placed the sliced tomato in between the mozzarella rows and finally added 3-4 chiffonaded basil leaves to the top of the tart. I added a little of the mozzarella marinade and a good shake of dried oregano to the tart before baking it. The tarts both took about 25-30 minutes.

They were both delicious, and make beautiful springtime hors' d'oeuvres or meals with a simple salad.