Recipe: Tarte aux tomates

A tarte aux tomates is everything a Provençal summer holds: salted tomatoes, puff pastry that smells of butter and sunshine, and a whisper of thyme or basil. No complicated steps, no secret ingredients, just a few rules that make the difference between an ordinary vegetable tart and something you serve your guests with a smile.

What you need

• 1 sheet of good puff pastry (round, ~26 cm)
• 500 g ripe tomatoes, preferably in two or three colours
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp grated aged cheese (gruyère or a good pecorino)
• 1 sprig fresh thyme or a handful of basil
• Olive oil, fleur de sel, pepper

The tomatoes, salted first

Slice the tomatoes into half-centimetre slices and lay them on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Sprinkle fleur de sel over them and let them sit for 30 minutes. This is the step most recipes skip, and this is where the magic happens — the tomatoes release their water so your tarte won't be soggy.

Building the base

Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Roll out the pastry onto a baking sheet with baking paper and prick the base. Spread the mustard over the pastry up to a centimetre from the edge, not out of frugality, but because the mustard is the bridge between the dough and the tomatoes. Then sprinkle the grated cheese over the mustard.

Arranging the tomatoes

Pat the tomatoes dry and arrange them in a spiral or neat rows on the cheese. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over them and scatter the thyme finely over the top. You don't need any more salt — it's already in the tomatoes and the cheese.

Baking

Bake the tarte for 25 to 30 minutes, until the base is a deep golden brown and the edges of the tomatoes lightly caramelise. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing, otherwise it will break.

A tarte aux tomates deserves one glass of rosé and a shaded terrace. Nothing more.

Tips from the Le Marie Marché kitchen

• Do you have green and yellow tomatoes? Beautiful! The tarte will look like a mosaic.
• No thyme at hand? Scatter a handful of torn basil over it after baking.
• For those who prefer it more robust: a few anchovy fillets underneath the tomatoes.

Eat it lukewarm, not hot, not cold. With a simple green salad and a glass of rosé. There you have it: Provence, in an hour.