Tomato Pate Feuilletee and an Easter Picnic

I have really been on a salt craving lately. I even had patatas en salsa verde for a mid morning snack today, so this tomato tart was quite the treat. I know I don’t share much of my savory cooking in this blog, but I’m a pretty good cook if I may say so myself.

Ever since I read about Pierre Herme’s latest composition called Revelation, I have been so intrigued by the pairing of all these flavors. It is composed of tomato pate feuilletee, vanilla and olive oil mascarpone cream, tomatoes, strawberries and black olives (you can read Veron’s review here). Interesting, but perhaps a bit too complex for me right now, so I decided to try the tomato puff pastry alone.

We spent Saturday morning at the farmer’s market where they had an egg hunt for the little ones. Mayhem didn’t even come close to explaining how crazy it was. We did find some great tomatoes and leafy greens, which was great considering the market will come to an end in a couple of weeks.

We had a picnic afterwards although we didn’t make it far. Just right outside our house with some fresh fruit, my favorite Izze clementine sodas and the tarts.

I don’t have Chef Herme’s specific recipe for the tomato pate feuilletee, but made it following his pate feuilletee inversee recipe and adding tomato paste to it. I have tried his plain recipe before and it is one of the flakiest ever.

I made a large rectangle tart with a mascarpone and ricotta filling and topped with roasted tomatoes, kalamata olives and fresh herbs. For the small ones, I thin slices of fried potatoes and layered them with the roasted tomatoes and onions. All of it topped with crunchy sea salt, of course.

Tomato Pate Feuilletee Inversee

400 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
175 grams all purpose flour
50 grams tomato paste

With the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the tomato paste and mix. Add the flour and mix until combined.

Scrape the mixture into a large sheet of plastic wrap and form a square that is about 6 inches (15 cm) wide. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

185 grams water
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white vinegar
420 grams all purpose flour
115 grams butter, melted and cooled

Place the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. While the mixer is on, add the melted butter and mix until starts to combine. It will be lumpy. Mix the water, salt, vinegar together and slowly add it to the flour while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until it starts to come together. Depending on the flour, you might not need to add all the water. The dough should be the consistency of soft tart dough.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape it into a square that is about 2 inches smaller than the butter block. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Place the chilled butter block on a well floured marble surface (best). Roll it to a rectangle that is about 12″x7″. Place the flour block on the middle half and fold the rolled butter block on top. Seal the edges well. make sure the block that is inside reaches out to all corners. Press it gently if you need to. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for another 2 hours.

To make the first turn, roll the dough on a well floured surface to about 21″x7″. The size doesn’t really matter that much as long as the dough is three times the length as the width, Give it its first book fold by folding one end of the dough to the middle, the same with the other end. Fold the dough in half at the center. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 2 more hours.

Place the dough on a cold surface. The open edges should be to your left and right. Roll and repeat with a second book fold and refrigerate overnight after this.

The following day, give it its last turn but this time it will be a letter fold. Roll the dough three times the longer than its width. Fold one end so it covers the middle third of the dough and fold the other end over it. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll the dough to about 1/8″ thickness. Refrigerate the dough for another 30 minutes before cutting. You can also freeze the rolled puff pastry at this point. Just cut it into rectangles that will fit into your sheetpan and place parchment paper in between the sheets so they do not stick in the freezer. It will last up to a month in the freezer.

Roasted Tomato, Ricotta and Mascarpone Tart

4 heirloom tomatoes, various colors if possible
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
100 grams whole milk ricotta
25 grams mascarpone
2 Tbs parmesan, freshly grated
1 egg
1 tsp salt
Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
kalamata olives, small diced

Cut a rectangle of tomato puff pastry that is about 10″x6″. Place on a sheetpan lined with parchment and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Cut the tomatoes into 1/4″ slices. Place the slices on a sheetpan lined with parchment. Sprinkle the tops with fresh ground black pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Let them cool slightly before assembling the tart.

Place the ricotta in a fine strainer and let it sit over a bowl. Press lightly with a spoon to remove some of the excess water. Mix ricotta, mascarpone, parmesan, egg, herbs and salt in a bowl.

To assemble the tart, spread the cheese mixture over the puff pastry leaving about a 1″ border on each side. Place the tomatoes on top. Bake at 400F for about 30 minutes. When it comes out, sprinkle with some sea salt and the diced kalamata olives. Serve warm or room temperature.