Upside Down Tomato Basil Tartlets |Cooking With Amanda

Tomatoes and basil are like peanut butter and jelly. The two go together so perfectly, don't you think? I love bruschetta for the crispy toasted baguette and uncooked tomato, which make it totally worth the extra steps, but I don't always have time to fry the sliced bread in a pan or toast them in the oven. Know what I mean?

If you have a large menu and need to save some time or if you just want to save some time and serve a delicious savory appetizer, you'll want to make these mini tomato basil tartlets.

They may sound a little fancy with the puff pastry and all, and they do feel like one of the lighter appetizers but tartlets are fitting for everything from casual friends hanging out to a Saturday night cocktail party.

Upside Down Tomato Basil Tartlets Picture

The parmesan cheese makes these even better, but be sure to oil your pan properly, or the tomatoes may stick a little. It's nothing a little spoon can't handle, which is why I scoop out the tartlets and invert them after removing each one from the pan. It's a quick and easy process. So don't be stingy with the cheese!

Be warned that if you delegate the tartlets, your helper may eat a good amount before any make it onto the plate! I learned this from experience. If that happens, you know these tartlets were a good choice.

I adapted this from a recipe for upside down mushroom tartlets, which sound like something I'd love, but at the time I had the ingredients listed in the recipe and no mushrooms or thyme. So I used the idea of an upside down tartlet with puff pastry, and used what I had. I was craving tomatoes anyway so it worked out well.

Print Save

Upside Down Tomato Basil Tartlets Recipe

Embed

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed, keep the second one handy just in case
3 roma tomatoes, small, or 2 large
4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2-3 pinches salt
1/2 clove garlic, very finely chopped
grated parmesan cheese
olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Cut puff pastry dough into little rounds.
Place rounds on silicone mat lined baking sheet and place in the fridge.
Chop tomatoes and basil, stirring together in a small bowl.
Add a few pinches of salt and garlic.
Mix well.
Brush oil inside each opening in the mini muffin pan.
Divide the tomato mixture evenly among all 24 openings in the mini muffin pan.
Sprinkle a layer of grated parmesan over the tomatoes.
Top each opening with a puff pastry round.
Bake for about 25 minutes until the puff pastry is a light golden brown.
Be sure to rotate the pans after 10 minutes.
Using a spoon remove the tartlets from the pan by scooping up the tomatoes and inverting each tartlet and placing on a serving tray.
They are best served warm.
Enjoy!

Notes

I used a tiny shot glass to cut my rounds, 1 3/4 inches across, and it was the right size to set on top of the tomatoes and reach the sides of each mini muffin cavity.
The number of tarts will depend on the size of the openings in your mini muffin pan. Use the second puff pastry sheet if necessary.