A spicy Tomato Harissa Tart made with an easy homemade puff pastry! Put your tomatoes and garlic to use in this seriously delicious, savory tart! With a flakey, “buttery” crust, this tart makes for a perfect appetizer or snack.

Tomato Harissa Tart

When my husband brought home a pack of red-brown kumato tomatoes, I set out to make my first ever savory Sugared & Stirred recipe! Now, this recipe is very simple, and, to be honest, isn’t much of a “recipe”. I had a small jar of unopened harissa paste in my pantry, lots of kumato tomatoes, and a craving for something buttery, garlicky, and relatively simple to make.

After Googling “homemade puff pastry” I came across two similar recipes from Baking a Moment and An Italian in My Kitchen to help me along the way. I used plant-based butter in place of the regular butter (and less of it) and then kind of just winged it on the whole laminating thing.

Once the dough had been rolled and chilled three times, I topped it with a simple egg wash (or melted coconut oil if vegan), the harissa paste, salted tomato slices, and big pieces of sliced garlic (optional, but who doesn’t love garlic?!). The end result is a beautiful, Summer-y tart bursting with flavor. And if you’re not dairy-free, I won’t fault you for indulging in a bit of store-bought puff pastry. You do, you. But whatever you do, make this tart!

What is Harissa Paste?

Harissa paste is a red, spicy Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made with herbs and spices like garlic, coriander, and caraway. I got mine from Trader Joe’s (here in the US), but there are homemade recipes you can make, if that’s your thing. Bon Appétit has one that sounds delicious.

If you like your food spicy, then I recommend spreading 2-3 whole tablespoons over your dough. For a less spicy pastry, you could do just 1 tablespoon – a little goes a long way in the spice department.

How to Make Dairy-Free Puff Pastry

I promise you that making your own puff pastry is not as difficult as it may seem. And if you’re vegan or follow a dairy-free diet, then you have no choice but to make your own (as far as I know anyway)!

You’ll start by mixing flour with a little bit of salt, and then you’ll use a fork to mix in cubes of cold butter. I like to cut my plant butter into cubes and then pop them back in the refrigerator for a few minutes to let them chill. Once all of the cold butter cubes have been added to the flour mixture and are well coated with flour, you’ll add some ice cold water (sans ice). You want to mix the dough until it just comes together. It will look “shaggy” and a bit crumbly.

At this point, you’ll turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to bring it all together, kneading the dough ball a few times until it’s no longer crumbly. But you don’t want the butter to melt, so be sure you only knead it a few times! You want to see lots of butter chunks in the dough – this is what gives the pastry the flakey rise. You’ll wrap and chill the dough before laminating it.

To laminate the dough, you’ll roll the dough into a large rectangle and then fold the two shorter edges to meet in the middle. Then you’ll turn the pastry dough and fold it like a book. You’ll re-chill the dough and repeat this process two more times before building your tart.

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Yield: 8 Slices

Tomato Harissa Tart with Homemade Puff Pastry

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A bright and Summer-y tart topped with spicy harissa, tomatoes, and lots of fresh garlic. With a homemade puff pastry, this delicious tart can easily be made vegan!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Puff Pastry

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold plant-based butter, cubed
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup ice cold water

Topping/Filling

• 6 small tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp harissa paste
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 egg for egg wash (or coconut oil if vegan)

Instructions

Prepare the Puff Pastry

1. Cut your plant butter into cubes and place in the refrigerator to chill for 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the chilled, cubed butter and stir gently with a fork, leaving the chunks of butter intact. Once the butter cubes are all coated with flour, add the ice cold water (but no ice). Use a fork to gently bring the dough together - it will look shaggy and a bit crumbly. Do not over-mix it!
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball and then gently knead it a few times. You don't want the chunks of butter to melt, so it's important to work quickly and be careful not to over-handle the dough.
4. Flatten the dough ball to a disc shape, wrap in plastic or parchment paper, and refrigerate for an hour or until the dough has firmed up.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle. Fold the short sides up into the middle until the meet. Then turn the pastry and fold the dough together like a book. You should be left with a small, folded rectangle of dough. Re-wrap this dough and chill for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process two more times. Finally, after the third roll and fold, chill the dough for an hour.
6. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet. Roll the chilled dough out into a rectangle roughly 1/8"-1/4" thick. Feel free to trim up any rough edges or leave as-is.
7. In a small bowl, beat 1 egg and then lightly brush the egg over the surface of the pastry. Transfer the pastry (along with the parchment paper) to a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Build + Bake the Tart

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle salt on both sides of each tomato slice. Allow salted slices to sit for 5 minutes (they will release lots of excess juice/moisture).
3. Meanwhile, slice the garlic and set aside.
4. Spread harissa paste over the cold puff pastry, leaving about a 1/2" border.
5. Top the harissa paste with the tomato slices (shaking off + discarding the excess juice) and then the garlic slices. Chill the tart (on the baking sheet) for 10 minutes.
6. Bake the tart at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until the edges have puffed and are golden brown.
7. Slice into 8 pieces and enjoy!

Notes

• Dough can be prepared and chilled one day ahead of time
• For a vegan tart, use melted coconut oil in place of the egg wash

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 195Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 424mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

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