Provençale Tomato Tart
A few days ago I was standing out in my garden and noticed the very first red tomatoes ripening in the sun. I stood there for a while pondering whether I should just eat them raw sprinkled with flake salt or bring them inside and make something.
What I love most about summer cooking is the absolute ease of how dishes come together in my household. The rule of thumb is no rules and everything should be served very simply and unadorned. A perfectly charred steak cooked on my outside grill, a big salad full of repurposed leftovers, or a big spoonful of ratatouille topped with a poached egg. The idea is to cook with the fewest amount of dishes possible.
I was about to make a tomato sandwich on toasted sourdough when I remembered a half-finished jar of olivade and a sheet of puff pastry I had leftover in my fridge. My Provençale tomato tart was born.
The best thing about tomato tarts is they are very forgiving and can be modified easily based on what you have on hand. I have baked this tart with slices of tangy goat cheese or even shredded gruyere cheese sprinkled over. Or even pulled the hot tart out of my oven and dropped a ball of creamy burrata right on top.
I like to oven-dry my tomatoes before finishing the tart. Long slow cooking concentrates the tomato flavor making it more intense, and keeps the crust dryer resulting in a crisper more flaky tart.
Sliced tomatoes about to be dried in a low temperature oven.
Tomato Confit (oven-dried tomatoes):
4 to 8 tomatoes (4 large or 8 small)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 sprig savory, leaves removed
10 basil leaves chopped fine
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Tomato Tart:
1 sheet Puff Pastry If possible, find an all-butter version.
3 tbsp olivade or tapenade (optional)
4 ounces fresh goat cheese (optional)
To make the tomato Confit, Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a buttered sheet of parchment paper.
Cut the tomatoes into quarter-inch thick slices and lay on the prepared sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with herbes de Provence, sea salt, black pepper, herbs, onion powder, and garlic powder (if you are using them). Bake for 2 hours, or until the tomatoes have shrunk in size and lost a lot of moisture.
Round or Square Tomato Tart? There are bigger things to stress about in the summer.
To make the Tomato Tart, Cut the puff pastry sheet into a 9-inch circle or a square. I used a springform pan as my guide. Spread olivade on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border free and clear of anything. Fan the oven-dried tomato slices in a concentric circle over the olivade and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. If you are making it with goat cheese make sure to put slices across the top before baking.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Enjoy with a glass of rose wine. Happy summer!
