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
Judy
This was one of the best trips we have taken to Europe. We have often done our own planning. It was so nice to have Laura help. We were very delighted with accommodations and friendliness of all our hosts and tour guides. As Americans that don't speak much French, we would never have been able to arrange a trip like this ourselves - and we've done …
Bill
France Just For You is a service I highly recommend regardless of how much experience you have traveling through France. Emilie does an amazing job of putting together an exciting and interesting itinerary, taking you to places and meeting people you would never find on your own. Not only are her ideas great, but she is also very thorough. Her trip …
Robert
I can't say enough about how much we loved working with Emily and Laura. I am a wine geek and they put together a full day private tour of Burgundy (with a fantastic guide) and a half day visit and basket lunch at a wonderful winery in Provence. In addition there was a private half day walking tour of Paris and a private tour of the Palais des …
Corinne
Lovely trip made easy by France just for you! We had a fabulous time in France on a two week driving trip. We provided a brief outline of some of the things we wanted to see and do and France Just for you created a daily itinerary, booked our Bed and Breakfasts and hotels, reserved our car and suggested things to see in each city we visited. It was …
John
My wife and I recently engaged Emilie, of France Just For You, to plan a two week trip to Provence in the first two weeks of May. It was mid-March and we found Emilie during a web search of self-driving tours of France. What a find! Emilie responded within twenty-four hours with very specific questions, wanting to know more about us, our interests …
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 …