Roasted Tomato and Herb Puff Pastry Tart

You can use this basic recipe, developed by Copia Senior Culinary Instructor Jill Hough for Bon Appetit magazine, year-round—mixing up the toppings depending on the season. This is the original version, designed to take advantage of summery heirloom tomatoes at their peak.

The pastry and toppings can be prepared in advance, then quickly assembled right before cooking and serving. Or the whole tart can be made in advance and served room temperature. The thing to remember is that the cook time isn’t long enough to do much besides melt the cheese and heat the toppings. So whatever you put on the pastry should be either pre-cooked (roasted, blanched or sautéed) or something that you don’t mind eating relatively raw, like thinly sliced onions.

Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer or light entree

12 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 red heirloom plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
4 yellow heirloom plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1 1/4 cups grated Gruyère cheese (about 4 ounces), divided
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Place the garlic on 6-inch square of foil; drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Seal the foil packet. Toss the tomatoes, salt, pepper and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a bowl. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle any juices in the bowl over the tomatoes. Place the garlic packet on the same sheet. Bake until the garlic is soft, about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven; increase the temperature to 400°F.

Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 10-inch square; transfer to the prepared sheet. Using a fork, pierce the pastry all over. Chill 20 minutes.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pastry, leaving a 1-inch plain border. Arrange the tomatoes in alternating colors, cut side up, over the cheese in 4 rows. Place the garlic cloves between the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the thyme, rosemary and the remaining cheese. Bake the tart until golden, about 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.