Name: La Fête’s Roasted Tomato Tart
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 8–10 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 1 head garlic; Olive oil; 8 oz. chèvre (Hall prefers Capriole Goat Cheese); 1 handful of fresh chives, parsley, and basil; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 pint cherry tomatoes or a mix of colorful heirlooms; 1 egg; 1 box all-butter puff pastry

Kristen Farmer Hall may be a lauded Southern pastry chef, but she won’t hesitate to sing the praises of a store-bought box of puff pastry. The owner of Bandit Pâtisserie and La Fête bistro and wine bar in Birmingham, Hall naturally reaches for buttery, flaky vessels to relish in the seasonal flavors of farmers’ markets and backyard gardens. In her roasted tomato tart dish, grocery store pastry makes prepping in the kitchen a snap. “I love this recipe for its versatility,” Hall says. “It’s an effortless, elegant summer dish, plus the vol-au-vents can also be prepped in advance and stored in the freezer, so by the time your oven is preheated, you’re ready to bake.”

Hall’s tart couples the sweet acidity of ripe tomatoes with rich goat cheese, and while it works nicely with slices of garden-grown heirlooms or blistered cherry tomatoes, it smoothly adapts to whatever’s in season throughout the summer and fall. “It’s truly the perfect farmers’ market tart,” she says. “In the summer, squash, zucchini, eggplant, and caramelized onions all work beautifully.”

Ingredients

La Fête’s Roasted Tomato Tart
- 1 head garlic
- Olive oil
- 8 oz. chèvre (Hall prefers Capriole Goat Cheese)
- 1 handful of fresh chives, parsley, and basil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or a mix of colorful heirlooms
- 1 egg
- 1 box all-butter puff pastry

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the top off the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast for 1 hour. Let cool, then squeeze out 4–5 cloves into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
In the mixing bowl with the roasted garlic, add chèvre, a handful of finely chopped herbs, a pinch of salt, and a few cracks of black pepper. Mix until creamy and well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Halve cherry tomatoes or slice larger heirloom tomatoes into thick rounds. If using larger varieties, season with salt and allow to drain on a paper towel–lined rack for 20–30 minutes to remove excess moisture.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a pinch of salt. Set aside with a pastry brush.
Remove pastry from the freezer and let temper at room temperature for 20 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface to your desired size.
Place the rolled-out pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Score a 1-inch border around the edge (without cutting through the dough), and dock the center with a fork. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Use a round cutter to punch out an even number of circles. Cut a smaller circle from the center of half to create rings. Brush the full rounds with egg wash, then top each with a ring. Freeze for 20 minutes.*
Once chilled, brush the top of the pastry with egg wash. Spread a generous layer of the garlic–chèvre mixture in the center. Top with tomatoes tossed lightly in olive oil, salt, and pepper. (Note: If you have extra tomatoes, place them in a small roasting dish and bake alongside the tart to use as a topping later.)
Bake at 375°F for 20–25 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
Top the tart with the extra roasted tomatoes and a scatter of fresh herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*Tip: The dough can stay in the freezer for longer if desired (for up to 30 days when wrapped well in plastic wrap).

Gabriela Gomez-Misserian, Garden & Gun’s digital producer, joined the magazine in 2021 after studying English and studio art in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. She is an oil painter and gardener, often uniting her interests to write about creatives—whether artists, naturalists, designers, or curators—across the South. Gabriela paints and lives in downtown Charleston with her golden retriever rescue, Clementine.

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Ingredients

La Fête’s Roasted Tomato Tart

Preparation

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