Recipe: Breakfast Tarts

Today’s recipe is super easy and definitely versatile.  It is a great option for breakfast or brunch, a big group or a simple Saturday breakfast at home.  It is inexpensive, and the options are endless.

Meet the breakfast tart.

Buttery, flaky puff pastry takes bacon and eggs to the next level.  I added in caramelized onions, sauteed cherry tomatoes, and a little fresh thyme.  However, you can pack in almost anything you would add to a fritatta or omelet.  I think goat cheese + sundried tomatoes, spinach + sauteed mushrooms, or chorizo + jalapenos would all be amazing combinations.

Recipe:  Breakfast Tarts (inspired by this recipe)

• 1 sheet of ready rolled frozen puff pastry (2 usually come in a package)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup freshly-grated cheddar
• 4 slices of thick-cut bacon
• a handful cherry tomatoes, sliced in half.
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• Fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cut the puff pastry into 4 squares (I used a pizza cutter) and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
3. Take a knife, and score the inside of the pastry square about half an inch from the edge.  This is done so that the outside edges puff up a bit higher than the inside.  
4. Place in the oven for 10 minutes until puffed up and just starting to turn golden brown.  
5. While the pastry is in the oven, fry the bacon until crispy, drain and set aside.
6. In the same pan (DON’T drain the bacon grease), saute the onion until it becomes soft and translucent, about 3 minutes or so.
7. Add in the cherry tomatoes, and stir with a wooden spoon so that the tomatoes are mixed in well with the onions.  Keep sauteing for a few minutes more until the onions are beginning to brown.
8. Remove to tarts from the oven and CAREFULLY push down the inner part of the pastry square so the outer rim is raised up a bit.  (The steam will burn you if you aren’t careful.) 
9. Place the grated cheese around the inner rim of the pastry square.  Crack an egg into the middle of each square.  Top with salt, pepper, your sauteed onions, tomatoes, and crispy bacon.
10. Place back in the oven until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  For hard egg yolks, we needed 20 more minutes.  Adjust time for your oven and preference. 
11. Take out and top with thyme leaves.