How To Give Homemade Danish Pastries An Herby Tomato Twist

While Danish pastries are commonly sweet and delicate breakfast treats to pair with your morning coffee, you can take them in a savory, dinner-worthy direction by swapping fruit filling for umami-rich tomatoes and herbs. In her recipe for cheese and Italian herb tomato danishes, Tasting Table recipe developer Jennine Rye builds her puff pastry with Parmesan and herb infused cream cheese and juicy tomato slices.

She uses a blend of dried Italian herbs, parmesan, and garlic powder to infuse the cream cheese, making for an herbal and aromatic filling to pair with the tomato slices. Tomatoes are the star of the show, so you'll want to look for the ripest, sweetest variety your supermarket has to offer. Better still, this Danish would be one of the tastiest ways to use up your summer garden's tomato harvest. Larger tomatoes cut into quarter-inch thick rounds would cover the surface of each individual rectangular pastry with two slices.

Spread the tomato slices onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet to dry out for a few minutes while you assemble the puff pastry dough and cream cheese filling. Juiciness is a desirable sign of ripeness, but too much juice will result in a soggy pastry crust. Top your Danishes with the dried tomatoes and pop them into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 22 to 25 minutes. The high heat will roast the tomatoes, concentrating their umami richness, caramelizing their sugars, and creating a melt-in-your-mouth texture to contrast with the flaky, crisp pastry crust.

Rye reinforces the Italian flavors in the Danish's cream cheese filling by topping her tomatoes with a garnish of shredded parmesan and strips of fresh basil leaves. However, you can switch up the garnishes with other Italian ingredients or change the culinary theme entirely by using different seasonings and cheeses.

Instead of shredded Parmesan and fresh herbs, you could finish the tomato Danishes with a drizzle of your favorite store-bought pesto that contains both basil and parmesan. Toasted pine nuts and a sprinkle of gorgonzola cheese are two Italian garnishes that would complement tomatoes with even richer umami and savory notes. You could also swap cream cheese for a richer yet milder ricotta or mascarpone.

You could swap Italian herbs for herbs de Provence, and cream cheese for a rich gooey brie or camembert cheese for a French tomato tart to garnish with a drizzle of this honey balsamic glaze. Infuse the cream cheese with harissa, cumin, and smoked paprika and top the tomatoes with feta cheese and thinly sliced red onion for a Middle Eastern twist. A packet of ranch seasoning is a great resource to bring herbaceous, tangy, aromatic flavors to your cream cheese filling. You could top ranch tomato Danishes with fresh dill, shredded cheddar, and crispy bacon bits. For a Mexican take on these tomato tarts, blend a can of chipotles in adobo into the cream cheese filling and garnish the tomatoes with cotija cheese, pickled onions, and cilantro.