Tomato Puff Pastry Bites

With a fine dusting of feta cheese...

Without the feta cheese...

Tomato Puff Pastry Bites.... If you like tomatoes, you will love this little appetizer. I came across this recipe while leafing through a Taste Of Home magazine. It was quite recent, actually... I needed to take an older lady for a dental check-up. So while I was sitting there in the waiting room, I spotted a cooking magazine of all things:)! I couldn't resist... I noticed that it was the same issue that I had received a few days ago. Oh well, I guess I could look through it again. It is funny how you miss so many things the first time around! This little appetizer had won third place in their tomato contest. This time though, I noticed the recipe :)... I knew instantly that I would try it. I always have some homemade puff pastry in the freezer....and tomatoes?...why I had those too! So, I made them them and absolutely love them! If you are looking for an appetizer that is a bit different, you will like these. They remind me of a tomato tart, which I 've been meaning to make...maybe one of these days. These small bites are much quicker. Of course, you can use store bought puff pastry, but I like making my own. Nothing beats the flavor of homemade pastry.

I didn't change the recipe too much, I just used some ingredients that I had on hand. The original recipe used smoked gouda cheese...I used some spicy pepper jack. Feel free to use your favorite cheese. I also added a pinch of Italian seasoning along with some fresh basil...and I had to add some onion! These are perfect to make in the summer, when the tomatoes are at its best. You can make a couple or you can make enough for a crowd. They are best eaten warm(that's because I like the puff pastry to be crispy and the cheese melted)...but, even room temp will do:)! I hope you will give these a try...

Tip: You can , I think, also use sliced zucchini...I mean, why not. Maybe, a combination of the two...it would give a wonderful color contrast. Let me know if you try it with zucchini/squash.

You will need: make as many as you like...recipe is for one.

1 puff pastry square,( roughly the same size as your tomato slice 2x2 or 3x3 inches)

1 tomato slice

1 TBS grated pepper jack cheese ( you can also use Mozzarella, Gouda, Havarti, Provolone etc.)

1 tsp green onion, sliced, chopped( you can use regular red/white onion)

Italian seasoning, a small pinch

chopped basil, fresh,a small pinch

feta cheese, optional

salt and pepper, a pinch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 deg.

Cut tomato slices, pretty thin. You don't want them to be too thin and yet you don't want them to be too thick either. Set aside.

Cut puff pastry into small squares that are roughly about the same size as your tomato slices.

Place some parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Lay the puff pastry square on the parchment paper. Add about 1 TBS of cheese(maybe a little less, depending on how big your square is). Add some sliced/chopped onion. I had some green onion from the garden and use the white tip only. But, you can easily add regular onion.

Place a tomato slice on top.

Add a pinch of Italian seasoning . Season with salt and pepper, if you like. If you are going to add feta cheese later, you might not need to add any salt. Bake in a preheated 425 oven for about 10-12 minutes. Please check them ...you want them golden brown and nicely puffed. Depending on the puff pastry size, the cooking time will vary. Mine took 12 minutes.

You can add some fresh basil and a fine dusting of feta cheese(I used my microplane). You can also omit the feta cheese.