Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

It’s Barefoot Bloggers Time. Barefoot Bloggers are a community of bloggers who twice monthly make and share recipes from Ina Garten’s cookbooks. The recipe for this month was selected by Anne of Anne Strawberry, who has chosen Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts. I, for some reason, was not excited to make this recipe. Maybe it’s the 80 degree weather we’ve been having combined with baking at 425ºF? But with my husbands pushing, and assitance, I made these. WOW, these are so yummy. I love, love, love, that I used the lemon juice instead of the thyme. The lemon juice was a nice complement to all the cheese and made it taste more springy. I cut back on cheese where I could, I didn’t want to consume my full day of caleries in one little tart. I would make these again and make them the exact same way I did last night.

Her recipe: As always my changes will be in red.
Ingredients:

1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
Good olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves I omitted the thyme and used fresh lemon juice.
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler Omitted the Parmesan.
4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet) I used French Goat Cheese and Dill Havarti Dofino.
1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices I put several slices on each.
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Directions:
Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11-inch square. Using a 6-inch wide saucer or other round object as a guide cut 2 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the second pastry sheet to make 4 circles in all. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Sauté for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border.

Place 1/4 of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil, squeeze lemon juice over tart, and sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Finally, scatter 4 or 5 shards of Parmesan on each tart.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. The bottom sheet pan may need an extra few minutes in the oven. Serve hot or warm.