Tomato and Goats Cheese Tart

At the end of summer the tomatoes here are superb. One of the old homemade classics that you will get at meals served in your friends' gardens at this time of year is tomato tart. It is one of those super simple but elegant French taste sensations, like tarte fine aux pommes. Just intensely flavoured tomatoes and crispy pastry. 

Carefully stored organic tomatoes at Les Jardins Vergers de la Petite Rabaudiere.

 

This recipe is a variation on the old classic, because we live in a goats cheese area and it seems like an obvious combination or enhancement.

Homemade tomato and goats cheese tart.

 

French friends look away now...

Goats cheese from the market in Preuilly and chives.

 

I've also deliberately used German sweet prepared mustard as the touch of sweetness goes better than French mustard with the tomato and goats cheese. 

Ripe organic tomatoes from Les Jardins Vergers de la Petite Rabaudiere.

Not everyone has enough kitchen worktop space to roll out pastry, so I suggest using ready made pre-rolled short pastry, which in France comes in big circles perfect for tomato tart. Many French home cooks happily use ready prepared pastry from the supermarket.

The tomatoes laid out on the tart.

Ingredients

A ready made pre-rolled quantity of short pastry dough

German prepared mustard or similar (sweet, grainy)

3 good sized perfectly ripe tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1.5 tbsp chopped chives

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

A log of semi-aged goats cheese (ideally Sainte Maure de Touraine, of course)

 

Method

1. Turn the oven on full. You need the hottest temperature possible, like pizza, so make sure the oven is up to temperature when you put the tart in.
   
2. Line a 25 cm metal tart tin with the pastry, and prick the base a few times with a fork.
3. Spread a thin smear of mustard all over the pastry base and put it in the fridge while you slice the tomatoes and goats cheese.
4. Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer on the pastry then spritz or drizzle with the oil.
5. Sprinkle the herbs over the tart, then put a slice of goats cheese on each slice of tomato.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serves 4-6, with a green salad.

The pastry came from the supermarket, the tomatoes from Les Jardins Vergers de la Petite Rabaudiere, the organic market garden on the edge of Preuilly. Their farm shop is open from 16:00 to 19:00 every Monday evening, and they are at the market in Preuilly on Thursday mornings. The cheese came from a producer about 5 km away from Preuilly. It is not certified as Sainte Maure de Touraine, but because I bought locally I was less concerned about that. If I was buying the ingredients outside of the Touraine I would be sure to look for the certification.