This rustic French inspired tomato tart is made with a quick press-in crust, fabulous summer tomatoes, and an easy savory custard filling.
Whether your tomatoes are from the grocery store, the farmer’s market, or the backyard garden, this savory tomato tart will make you feel like you are living your best peak-summer life.
It may look fancy, but it’s one of the simpler recipes I’ve made recently, and comes together so quickly. Don’t believe me?
The crust is made with melted butter and is pressed into the pan – no rolling required!
The custard filling is literally just eggs + cream whisked in a bowl with some seasoning and grated cheese
Sliced fresh tomatoes are layered in, and the whole thing is baked in under an hour.
the simple secrets to my easy tomato tart crust
MELTED BUTTER
I’ve been making pie and tart crusts for decades, but this one completely changed the game for me. It uses melted butter ~ yes, melted! ~ which flies in the face of everything we’ve ever been told about keeping butter cold for a tender, flaky crust, and yet… it works like a dream.
3/4cupfontina cheese (or substitute Gruyere or a mild cheddar), grated
fresh tomatoes, sliced (about 2 large heirloom style tomatoes, or 3 medium sized tomatoes)
a tablespoon or so of fresh thyme leaves for serving (optional)
Instructions
to make the crust
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking powder.
Add the 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm and cold 3 Tbsp cold water and mix until the dough comes together into clumps. You don't want to see any dry flour left in the bowl, but try not to overmix.
Crumble the dough evenly over the bottom of your 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the tart pan and up the sides of the pan, getting it as even as possible.
Chill the tart shell in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F.
to make the filling
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/8 tsp salt, fresh cracked black pepper, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup of the grated cheese (reserve about 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top of the tomatoes.)
Remove the tart shell from the fridge, and pour in the custard. Lay your tomato slices over the custard, and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for about 35-45 minutes until the the custard is set and the crust is a light golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the tart to cool before carefully removing from the tart pan.
Slice and serve warm with fresh thyme leaves, if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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Hey there ~ I'm Sue. I love to make delicious food, photograph it, and write about it, but mostly, I just love to EAT. Isn't that what it's all about? My recipes are creative, vibrant, and totally approachable no matter what your skill level. Let's grab a bite together!
Can I make this in a pie pan? Do I need to build it higher? And can I make it ahead?
You could use a pie plate, and the tart works fine as leftovers, but if you’re going to serve to company I would make it the same day.
My mother used to make a similar thing every summer and this was even better!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Hope you love it!
Since I do not have a tart pan with a removable bottom, could I make this tart in a ceramic tart pan?
Yes, sure! You’ll just slice and serve from the pan.