Tomato Tart from Berry

Dinner, Snack

Golden, flaky puff pastry spread with mustard, then topped with ripe tomatoes and melted Emmental, baked until the pastry crisps and the cheese bubbles. The mustard adds a sharp, tangy kick that cuts through the sweet tomatoes and nutty cheese. This tart from the Berry region is bursting with sunshine flavour and delivers every time! Feel free to serve it warm with a leafy salad or pack it up for a countryside picnic!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Servings 6

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Ingredients  

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• 1 all-butter puff pastry ready-rolled or homemade, about 250–300g
• 5 tomatoes ripe
• 2 tbsp mustard Dijon
• 200 gr Emmental cheese grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• thyme optional
• salt and black pepper
• 1 egg yolk for glazing
• sesame seeds black and white

Equipment

• 1 baking tray or tart tin (28–30cm)
• parchment paper
• knife
• pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat and prepare

   Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Unroll the puff pastry on baking paper and transfer to your tart tin or lay directly on a baking tray for a free-form rustic tart. If using a tin, gently press around the edges. Prick the base all over with a fork.
2. 2. Spread the mustard

   Spread a generous layer of Dijon mustard over the pastry base.
3. 3. Add cheese and tomatoes

   Sprinkle most of the Emmental cheese over the mustard. Slice the tomatoes into neat rounds and arrange over the cheese.
4. 4. Season and finish

   Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle on remaining cheese and a few thyme leaves. Brush pastry edges with egg yolk for a glossy finish and scatter the black and white sesame seeds around the crust (if you feel fancy!).
5. 5. Bake

   Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden, the edges crisp, and the tomatoes melting.
6. 6. Serve

   Let cool for a few minutes so slices lift easily. Serve just warm or at room temperature with salad, or eat cold for a picnic.

About this recipe

I’ve learned this recipe from my neighbours back when we lived in France. When summer came, all the neighbours had a serious amount of tomatoes growing. They were always so kind to provide us with plenty, and they tasted nothing like what we buy in the supermarket today. Jacky’s tomatoes were the most incredible ones, fleshy, juicy and sweet, the kind that spoils you for anything lesser. People in the village would bake these famous tomato tarts by the batch and freeze them for winter, but I’ve always preferred them fresh. There’s just no substitute for the crunch of just-baked pastry and the way the filling smells as it comes out of the oven.

Sitting outside, fork in hand, listening to the birds and tasting those sweet tomatoes on buttery puff pastry, well, it’s happiness on a plate.

The tart itself is a reflection of Berry’s cooking philosophy: take what’s fresh, treat it minimally, and let every bite taste like its place of origin. Market stalls overflow with tomatoes when the season peaks, red, yellow, sometimes even green, and every household seems to have their secret seeds for getting their tomato just right.