We finally have some tomatoes ripening in our garden and this Tomato Tarte Tatin is one of my favorite things to make for a light summer meal. Unfortunately, there was not quite enough tomatoes ready in the garden, so I had to add some from the market.

emptied tomatoes

Emptied tomatoes (Photo© France Just For You)

 

This recipe feeds about 8 people. I like to serve it with a simple green salad with garlic croutons and a crisp and cold white wine from the Mâcon area.

Ingredients:

  • 12 medium sized tomatoes, cut into halves and emptied
  • 5 tablespoons of tapenade, preferably made from black olives, but green will work too
  • Olive oil
  • Pâte brisée (pie crust) – I just buy one from the supermarket
  • Herbes de Provence
  • Salt and pepper
  • Optional: ¾ cup goat’s cheese and a handful of basil leaves

 

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and grease the bottom of a round quiche-style dish with olive oil.
  • Place the emptied, halved tomatoes, skin side down, in a circle filling the dish. You can sort of squeeze in the tomatoes because they will shrink a little while cooking.
  • Top the tomatoes with salt, pepper, herbes de Provence and a good drizzling of olive oil. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, until tender, then take out, but do not turn off the oven.
  • Spread the tapenade on the crust to about 1 inch from the edges. Delicately place the crust over the tomatoes, tapenade side towards the tomatoes, and tuck the edges down towards the tomatoes.

 

Tapenade on a crust

 

  • Place in the oven for 30–40 minutes, until the crust is cooked and golden.
  • Let the tarte cool off a little, take a knife to light loosen the edges, then flip the tarte over onto a service platter.
  • If you’d like, you can crumble the goat’s cheese and basil on top, or serve as is. The tarte can be served warm or at room temperature.

Tomato tarte tatin

Laura with her homemade tomato tarte tatin (Photo© France Just For You)

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Ricki & Craig
There are not enough superlatives, or kind words, to describe the level of service Emilie, with France Just for You, provided us from the moment we contacted her, throughout our trip, and even her thoughtful emails upon our return. We contacted Emilie with a list of all the places we wished to go, the things we hoped to do, and our budget. We …
Paul & nancy
We just returned from 15 days in France, this trip was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Emilie and her team were amazing. We started in the south of France and finished in Paris. We visited many towns and villages, Aix, Cassis, Marseilles, les Gorges du Verdon,...The personalized guide book was golden for us. The details and suggestions …
Judy
I can echo everything that has been said in the previous three reviews. The personalization of this entire trip was incredible and Emilie communicated quickly and completely, both in the planning of the trip and after we were in France. My husband and I were spending four weeks in France in celebration of our 50th anniversary. We were a little …
Ed
This is the third year in a row that we have traveled to France, as part of a two country vacation. Because of our positive experiences with Emilie's help in the past, and our desire to be relatively independent, we chose to have her craft our French trip again this year. In a word, she is incredible! We have such a high level of confidence in her …
Don
We heard about Emilie from a friend who used her travel services twice. They spoke so highly of her we figured we had to visit France just to meet her. We traveled to the Loire Valley with another couple and she interviewed us separately to understand what we wanted to see and do and what we didn’t want to do. As a result, she designed a perfect …
Kim
So helpful and thoughtful! We had an amazing trip thanks to their planning and insights. Highly recommend, especially if you don’t have time to research places on your own. All the b&bs were beautiful, restaurant recommendations fantastic, great suggestions of routes and stops on our longer drives and having the cell phone with our guide book …