It’s summer, and it’s the perfect season for tomatoes.  Instead of dull red, tasteless little rocks, summer tomatoes are rich and ripe and sweet.  When you eat good, vine-ripened tomatoes, you actually get why tomatoes are considered a fruit instead of a vegetable– they’re so sweet that they have nothing in common with the lowly carrot and zucchini.

Okay, enough fawning over the almighty tomato. Below, you’ll find a recipe for one of my favorite things to make with ripe tomatoes: Tomato Tart Provencal.  It’s the perfect thing to have as a light dinner with a salad and crusty bread (and plenty of wine!).  Or to have around when you want a snack and want to pretend you’re eating something good for you (after all, tomatoes are a vegetable, right?).

You might think this recipe sound similar to pizza, but… sorry, you’re wrong.  The flavors of the gruyere cheese, the herbs de provence, and the dijon transform this little French dish into something totally unique.  This recipe makes individual tarts, though you can do the same with larger one.  Either way, it’s a must try.

Individual Tomato Tarts Provencal Recipe

Ingredients:
4 C. flour, plus extra for dusting
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 C. butter, at room temperature
cold water or milk, as needed
2/3 c. Dijon mustard
2 c. Gruyere cheese, shredded
8-10 medium vine ripened tomatoes
3 tsp. dried herbes de provence
salt & pepper, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Instructions: 1. In a mixing bowl, combing flour and salt.  Add egg yolk.  Mix butter into the dough with your hands.  Add just enough cold water (be careful!) or milk to help you make the dough into a firm ball.

2. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, slice tomatoes into just over 1/4″ slices.  Set in a strainer to drain until ready, at least 30 minutes.  You don’t want too much extra liquid.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a large rectangle and cut into 6 equal-sized rectangles.  It’s easier to do it in two batches.  (You can also make your tarts round, if you like.  Or, if you’re feeling fancy, use individual tart shells).

Click to enlarge.

5. Place tart shells on parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 7 minutes, until they just begin to show a little color.  They don’t need to be fully baked, but should be firm and lightly crisp.

6. Remove shells from oven and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

7. Divide Dijon mustard evenly among, shells, spreading from edge to edge.

8. Top evenly with shredded cheese.

9. Top with tomatoes, overlapping tomatoes to space them evenly.

10. Sprinkle even amounts of herbs de provence over tomatoes.  Sprinkle as desired with salt and pepper.  Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

11. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, until shells are crisp and golden and tomatoes are shrunken and softened.

12. Serve hot.  These are also good at room temperature.

Note: This can also be used to make full-sized tarts.  Recipe makes enough for 6 individual tarts or 2 full-sized tarts.

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