This colorful heirloom tomato crostata layers buttery crisp pastry, homemade pesto, creamy cheese, and super-juicy heirloom tomatoes. It’s a memorable lunch or brunch dish you’ll want to go back to again and again!

This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure is at the bottom of the article.

---

To me, there’s something magical about a perfectly ripe, super-juicy, meaty heirloom tomato. I only discovered these gorgeous specimens in recent years—for the longest time, I would see them in magazines and cookbooks but not in my local farmers’ markets.

Thankfully, the demand for heirloom tomatoes has grown over the years, and I can now find them easily year-round, thanks to new-generation farmers who grow them in hothouses throughout our cold, snowy Quebec winters.

Very little needs to be done to heirloom tomatoes to make them shine. My favorite way to serve them is tossed into a colorful Panzanella Salad. They’re also amazing as a topping for risotto or tossed with a simple aglio e olio pasta. Of course, I love them in a classic BLT sandwich, too!

But when I want to highlight these spectacularly curled tomatoes differently—and spark conversations in the process—I make this gorgeous Heirloom Tomato Crostata. This crostata—the Italian cousin to a French galette—looks amazing, yet it’s easier to make than you probably think. It all starts with my super-easy, foolproof shortcrust pastry. If you’ve never made pastry from scratch, this heirloom tomato crostata is the perfect opportunity to hone your skills. My shortcrust pastry recipe comes together within seconds in the food processor! The buttery flakiness of homemade pastry is hard to beat, but you could use store-bought, all-butter pastry as a shortcut as well.

The crostata is then slathered with pesto (homemade or store-bought, your choice!), dotted with creamy Boursin cheese (you can use goat cheese, too!), and topped with thick, colorful slices of heirloom tomatoes. This heirloom tomato crostata is the perfect combination of buttery, crisp, cheesy, herby, and juicy. It’s a memorable brunch or lunch dish you’ll want to go back to again and again—and your guests will request it, too!

Helpful Tips for Making Heirloom Tomato Crostata

• Drain those tomatoes: Heirloom tomatoes are super juicy, so it’s a good idea to help them release some of that liquid before you use them in a crostata to keep it from turning soggy. To do so, cover a baking sheet with paper towels, set the heirloom tomato slices side by side, and generously sprinkle both sides with sea salt. Let sit for 15 minutes, pat dry with additional paper towels, then use as indicated in the recipe.

• Take shortcuts: You can make the pastry and pesto required in the recipe from scratch—they don’t take much time at all to do, but there is some rest involved—so take shortcuts if need be and don’t feel guilty about it. Most grocery stores sell quality shortcrust pastry in the freezer section—just make sure to swing for an all-butter brand. Use your favorite pesto, or even skip it completely; you can substitute a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and garnish the crostata with fresh herbs instead.

• Let that crostata rest before you dig in: When you take the crostata out of the oven, you’ll likely see a small pool of liquid over the surface of the tomatoes. Don’t panic—simply let the crostata rest until it comes down to room temperature, which is how this heirloom tomato crostata should be enjoyed anyway. The flavorful juices will settle back down into the crostata, which will make it easier to slice and enjoy, too.

 

Disclosure Notice: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.

If you click on an affiliate link, I may earn advertising or referral fees if you make a purchase through such links, at no extra cost to you. This helps me creating new content for the blog–so thank you! Learn more about advertising on this site by reading my Disclosure Policy.