Little French Tomato Tarte Recipe

Recently in Paris I spent an afternoon at the Jardin du Luxembourg nibbling on a delicious French Tomato Tarte made by a friend and illustrator of many of Little French Heart’s original post cards, Janina Burouso. It’s simple, delicious and what the French were eating over their summer season.

It was part of our picnic, a rustique fare of which had been supplied by a morning shop at Bastille Markets of French cheeses, baguettes, olives and dips.

 

The tomato tarte was so good that i took the leftovers back to my little Parisian apartment in Le Marias where that evening I finished it off for dinner. It’s the kind of dish you can take with you on the go, or enjoy at home. It’s inexpensive and easy to make, tastes amazing and adds a little French style to your table.

Here is the recipe, kindly offered by Janina.

French Picnic Tomato Tarte Recipe

1 x shortcut pastry base

3 to 4 x medium-sized beef tomotos or coloured tomotoes truss styled for variety, sliced thin to medium

1 x tablesoon olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

pinch of salt, provence herbs or basil

1 teaspoon finely diced garlic (optional)

To make the tarte you need a good pate brisée (shortcut pastry) as the base.

Pastry recipe

1 1/4 plain flour

pinch of salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/8 to 1/4  cup of iced water

Pastry Method

In the bowl of a food processor, combine dry ingredients. Add butter and mix until the mixture is crumbly in texture and look. This can be done by hand but keep the mixture as cool as possible.

Add ice water slowly while processing. Pulse until dough holds together without being. To test, squeeze a small amount together, if it’s crumbly or comes apart, add a little more ice water.

In a flattened ball, wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for about an hour before use.

Making the Tomato Tarte

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celcius.

Cover a flat large metal tray with baking paper. Roll out the dough to a rectangle 30cm by 25cm or pie shape (30cm diametre) and place on the baking paper. Make sure the pastry is not too thick on base, but is rolled out enough to be able to turn in the sides to create raised edges.

Sprinkle generously with the grated parmesan, add slices ot fresh tomatos, sprinkle with oil olive, salt, basil or Provence herbs, and finely chopped garlic.

Roll the sides of the pastry over to cover a little bit of the tomato. Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. It’s ready when the pastry is crusty.

Remove from the over, and from the metal tray to stop it cooking further. Cool, and serve with a salad or picnic fare, or simply on its own.

Bon Appetit!