Company worthy

Last weekend, after putting the oxtail in the oven to braise, I canned 35 lbs. of the 40 lbs. of sweet summer tomatoes I had bought in bulk from my CSA farmer earlier that morning.  That left me with 5 lbs. of tomatoes to eat fresh, and to my heart's delight, throughout the week.  I was inspired by a picture of a tomato tart I had seen in Rick Stein's French Odyssey and came up with this recipe for my own tomato tart, along with a berry "napoleon" I created on the fly to use up the other package of puff pastry I had thawed.  The whole dinner  was very easy, quick, and pretty enough to be served to company.

Tomato tart by Joie de vivre

One package of puff pastry (will have two pastries in there, thaw them both)

5-6 really ripe tomatoes, sliced

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tsp. olive oil

cilantro

goat cheese

sea salt and black pepper

Lay out thawed pastries on lightly greased baking sheets.  Prick the pastry all over with a fork leaving an inch border around the edge.  Bake pastry according to directions (around 20 minutes) until very lightly browned.  On one pastry, sprinkle garlic and lay the tomatoes over the tart, overlapping them slightly and leaving a 1 inch border around the tart.  Sprinkle with cilantro (to your liking) and then with goat cheese.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Broil tart for about 5 minutes until the goat cheese is slightly melted (watch closely so your tart doesn't burn).  Cut into rectangles and enjoy.

Improvised Napoleon by Joie de vivre

Baked puff pastry

Frozen berries

Whipped cream

Cut the pastry into thirds after baking (or beforehand if you have the foreknowledge of wanting to make this dessert)  Lay 1/3 on your serving plate, top with whipped cream and then top with frozen berries.  Cover the frozen berries again with whipped cream and then top with another pastry.  Repeat the above, whipped cream, berries, whipped cream, and then the last pastry.  Top this pastry with whipped cream.  Leave to rest while you eat the tomato tart.  The berries will thaw a little and make the cream a delightful purple when you cut into the napoleon.  Enjoy!