French Tomato Tart
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Coming back from Paris I found myself inspired by the wonderful French cuisine and their amazing way with vegetables. When thinking about French cooking, what often comes to mind are rich sauces, grilled and broiled meats, delicate fish.
However I admire them greatly for taking any vegetable and making it into a delight in itself. I’ll probably be talking for months on end about the sucrine with parmesan sauce and pine nuts in Bistrot des Tournelles or yet the other sucrine dressed with the lightest most delicious grapefruit vinaigrette in Racines.
But I digress. Finding myself at home with a bounty of tomatoes (it’s the season after all) and remembering vaguely a French friend mentioning how much she loved tomato tarts, I set myself on a quest to find the best recipe.
As usual, I found it in multiple places and made my own version. This Smitten Kitchen one seemed amazing but I wanted something different in the crust. I felt like a savoury cheese crust would bring this to a whole new level. And then I remembered seeing a recipe for a parmesan pepper crust somewhere on Food52 - and I was sold.
Should you not feel inclined to make your own crust, a store-bought one will absolutely be fine, just make sure to use one that is pure butter. You can also start by making your dough the day before and assembling the tart the next day.
Combining the two recipes I managed to bake a tart so amazing, I just had to make two of them. The deeply savoury crust, sharp mustard, herby pesto - it all comes together to blow your mind.
Make sure you make it now when heirloom tomatoes are in season, they lend the most spectacular flavour to this dish. I served it with a simple green salad and promised myself to make it again next week.
Ingredients (serves 8)
Loosely adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Food52
For the dough
200g all purpose flour
115g cold butter
45g grated parmesan
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tbsp ice cold water
For the filling
3 large very ripe tomatoes (multiple colours look lovely)
1/2 cup good quality basil pesto (you can make your own here and also use other herbs if you’d like)
1 tbsp whole grain mustard (more, if you like mustard)
50g parmesan, grated
salt, freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
basil leaves to finish
Start by making your dough: in the bowl of a food processor add the flour, parmesan, butter and pepper. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the motor running slowly add the very cold water until the mixture starts coming together into a ball (you may only need 3 tbsp, you want the dough to just hold together).
Take the dough out and shape it roughly into a flattened disc. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
Prepare your tomatoes: slice them in 1 cm slices and sprinkle them lightly with salt.
Heat up the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
If you’re making your own pesto, now is the time to prepare it, otherwise make sure you have all your ingredients for the filling at the ready.
Take your dough out of the fridge and roll it into a disk to fit your tart pan. I used one that was 24 cm diameter. Line the pan with the dough carefully, trim excess while still leaving about a 1 cm overhang. If it fills too soft you can pop it quickly in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork. Line the dough with parchment paper and weigh with beans/pie weights/rice. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Bring it out of the oven, remove your weights and bake for another 5 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool slightly.
When ready to assemble: blot the tomatoes with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Spoon the mustard on the bottom of the tart shell and spread it evenly. Cover with finely grated parmesan. Spoon the pesto on top and distribute it.
Top with tomatoes, overlapping, creating a beautiful pattern. You can use smaller cherry tomatoes here for any gaps you may have. They will shrink in the oven so the tart should be overfilled at this point.
Sprinkle with pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place tart in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to one hour, until it smells divine and you can see the edges of the dough becoming deep golden brown.
Bring out and leave to cool for a little while. It can be served warm or at room temperature. It also makes amazing leftovers. Serve with basil leaves on top and not much else.
Let me know if you make it and subscribe for more mouthwatering summer recipes!