The ivy on the back wall of the building I can spy from my office has turned a deep, vibrant crimson. We've put away our summer clothes and pulled out our woolen hats, our thick socks, our flannel pyjamas. The toasty smell of the heating rises up against the windows in the morning. But my favorite stand at the green market is still selling plum tomatoes, the last ones of the season, and I am physically incapable of passing them by, no matter how heavily autumn presses upon us. Every week, I buy a sackful of those tomatoes and simmer them into sauces, chop them into Hugo's pastina, turn them into a quick lunch with a piece of cheese and bread. They're still irresistible, despite the winter squash and cabbage that look at me fetchingly from the side.
My most recent way to make my way through a pile of tomatoes was to bake a French tomato mustard tart from Clotilde's lovely new cookbook, The French Market Cookbook. A savory olive oil tart dough speckled with poppy and sesame seeds is parbaked, then filled with a savory blend of sautéed onions, mustard and egg. On top go a whole mess of halved, seeded and salted plum tomatoes before the tart goes back in the oven. There, the tomatoes shrink and shrivel, the crust goes crisp, the mustard and onions mellow. We ate slices of the tart hot from the oven and they were very good, but an overnight rest made them truly sing. The next day, Max and I eyed each other ferociously over the last few slices.
(A note: I mistakenly used a tart pan that was too small by a few inches, only realizing my mistake when the tart was already in the oven. Don't follow in my footsteps – make sure you use an 11- or 12-inch tart pan. You want the tart dough to be very, very thin.)
Clotilde is celebrating her blog's tenth anniversary today. Oh, 2003! I still remember first discovering Chocolate & Zucchini just a few months after Clotilde got started and feeling like I'd happened upon something seriously momentous. Her newest book, The French Market Cookbook, is a celebration of the very things that Clotilde has always done so well: simple yet creative vegetarian dishes that are seasonal and delicious, but also very, very beautiful.
One of Clotilde's gifts lies in the ability to take rather prosaic ingredients and transform them into something delectable. This book is full of these ideas. To wit: a stir-fry with barley flakes, carrots and curry; a mashed broccoli casserole on a bed of green lentils and rice; or, the one I'm now most excited to try, poor man's bouillabaisse, with nary a piece of fish in sight (poached eggs and peas take center stage). She updates an old French classic, fontainebleau, with yogurt, but also goes way back with an old-fashioned take on macarons made with walnuts and almonds and sandwiched together with a simple filling of melted chocolate.
Happily, I have an extra copy of The French Market Cookbook to give away today, in celebration of Clotilde and her lovely site and all the things she made me feel capable of doing all those years ago. So for a chance to win a copy, please leave a comment below and I'll pick a winner at random on Wednesday. Good luck!
Update: Jennifer is the winner and has been emailed. Thank you all for participating – comments are now closed.
Clotilde Dusoulier's Tomato Mustard Tart
Makes 1 11-12 inch tart
tart dough:
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon toasted poppy seeds (optional)
1 large egg
1. Combine the flour, salt and seeds, if using, in a bowl. Add the oil, egg and 1/4 cup/60 ml of water and mix them in with a fork until absorbed. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together in a smooth ball.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, turning it every so often, so that it doesn't stick to the surface or pin. Avoid overworking the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 11- or 12-inch tart pan and line it neatly. Chill for 30 minutes.
filling:
1 large egg, separated
1 3/4 pounds (800 grams) plum tomatoes
Fine sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling (optional)
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Handful of basil leaves, if available
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 ).
2. Brush the tart dough with some of the egg white. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and squeeze out the juice and seeds and core. (Save them for drinking with a sprinkle of salt – so good!) Sprinkle the cut sides with salt and place the tomatoes face down in a colander to drain.
4. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the onions are very soft, but haven't taken on any color. Let cool slightly.
5. Stir the egg yolk and any remaining white and the mustard into the onions and spread over the crust. Arrange the halved tomatoes, cut side down, over the onion layer. Drizzle the tart with more olive oil to taste (optional). Bake the tart until the tomatoes are wrinkled and fragrant, 45 minutes.
6. Top with shredded basil and black pepper and serve warm or let cool and store at room temperature overnight before serving.
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224 responses to “Clotilde Dusoulier’s Tomato Mustard Tart – and a Giveaway!”
My mother in law also puts mustard in her tomato tart and it is so tasty! I love the seeds in this one’s crust. I’ll put this it on my list of recipes to try before tomatoes go out of season!
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This tart looks amazing! Can’t wait to make it!
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Nothing quite as sweet as the end of tomato season and the beginning go fall.
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I would love to read The French Market Cookbook! I’ve been a big fan of Clotilde’s since I first discovered her blog about seven years ago.
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This looks delicious!
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the recipe and book are intriguing!
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Would love a copy of this book! Thanks!!
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Mmm on the menu for tomorrow night. Thanks.
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I think there is something to be said for having a mentor in the kitchen, whether older or not. For all the fuss made about learning to cook through rote learning, or by scientifically honing in on perfection (a la cooks illustrated,) I am fierce about my feeling that the most profound things we learn in a kitchen come from the guidance of someone we cherish. So cheers to that. And french markets. And cookbooks. And eating the last tomatoes of the year with a steak knife and a mighty feeling of fleeting anticipation.
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This seems to be calling the tomatoes slowly ripening in my garden!
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The book looks wonderful! Would love to have a copy and can’t wait to try that beautiful tart!
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I love Clotilde’s blog (and yours too!). Can’t wait to check out her latest cookbook and try the tart recipe.
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This looks lovely! My tomatoes almost always go into Spanish- or Italian-inspired dishes; I’ve never even imagined tomatoes with mustard.
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What an interesting idea!
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That tart looks simple and beautiful and delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
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Ooh, looks so yummy!
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I can almost taste that tomato tart! And that crust. Mmmm. I’ve been meaning to get my hands on The French Market Cookbook, so I do so hope to win!
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I regularly make tomato tart (despite my husband’s issues with tomatoes I may add!) – tonight we had Deb’s burst tomato, zucchini and corn galette but one summer fav is a David Lebovitz recipe for French Tomato Tart – this looks delicious too, especially the herby crust. Must try soon.
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That sounds amazing. I have been on a tart making craze lately, so I just might have to try this.
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Looks really delicious. I’ll try it without the poppy seeds, as you can’t get them here in Singapore, and have the left overs for my lunch.
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Sounds and looks delicious!
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Would love this cookbook, as I loved your book and take your word for everything!
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Chocolate and zucchini was the first food blog I ever followed – probably the first blog I followed and clothilde seems like an old friend. I love the idea of a tomato tart with mustard and will definitely make this. Glad to see that you’re back after your summer hiatus.
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I’ve been ignoring my blogroll for quite a while now, but this post made me want to look through them again. It looks so, so good.
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Autumn just arrived with a vengeance here and I’m looking for recipes that help me eek out just a few more days of summer. This one is perfect. Thanks!
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I’ve been desperately buying tomatoes at every chance I get, not willing to let their bounty end – can’t wait to make this!
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You always come up with these brilliant tomato recipes right at the end of your tomato season and just before the Australian tomato season kicks in. I’ll have to remember this one – love the idea of the mustard pastry.
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Oh ja these late tomatoes … I would love to win the book. 🙂
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That tart is amazing. I am going to miss the tomatoes sorely come winter.
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Would love to snuggle up on the sofa with a cup of tea and Clotilde’s new book! This recipe looks fab! Now if only I could find my tart pan amongst the boxes in my living room (we just moved)!
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Looks lovely. I’ll have to check out her blog, and her book. sounds like a great combination of simplicity and creativity.
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It looks gorgeous. I’ll try this very soon.
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Oh, this sounds (and looks) delicious!
I’d love to win the cookbook, thank you for the great giveaway.
Have a great day!
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Wow, seeds in the crust!? I have to try this.
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Do you buy the tomatoes at the Winterfeldplatz market? I envy you for seeing the pink ivy, we miss ours so much.
Luca
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Hm. that looks truely delicious. I might have to visit the market and try and find some of the last tomatoes from this season for this. Thanks for the recipe.
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I have been waiting to get my hands on Clotilde’s book. I love her website and I happily just discovered yours after moving to France. I love going to the markets and am in sore need of recipe suggestions for everything that goes into my grocery bags.
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Mustard tart… this looks very exciting! Would love to give it a try one day. For some reason I feel the great urge to add some meat (chicken?) to it.
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the tart looks amazing, my favourite at the moment is mushroom-leek-speck, for a more autumnal feel, but ould love some kitchen inspiration from Clothilde.
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I love the Clotilde’s blog as well as yours because they offer so many ways of preparing vegetables.
Schöne Grüße aus der Charlottenburger Nachbarschaft
Ute
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That pastry dough looks fantastic!
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I love the mustard, and with any kind of vegetables! I am picking the last tomatoes from my garden and I cannot believe the summer ended already.. will try the tart!
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We’ve just moved house so have been subsisting on a diet of pizza and Things Forgotten in the freezer. I’ve come to you for some healthier inspiration and this has made my poor tastebuds sit up in hope I can unpack the kitchen equipment and find everything I need to get cooking again! Task for the weekend!! The book looks wonderful, fingers crossed
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Ha! I also just made David Lebovitz’ tomato tart and will definitely try Clotilde’s now with our last tomatoes. Thank you once again for the inspiration.
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I know exactly what you mean about the last tomatoes of the season!
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Great, now I’m hungry and with a little over two working hours in front of me 🙂 Cookbook pretty please, so i could give this french twist a go! 🙂
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I can almost taste how good that tart would be. Is there anything better than fresh, local tomatoes?
I have Clotilde’s first cookbook and it is lovely – I am certain that this one is lovely also.
Thanks.
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Looks delicious!
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I’m going to start reading C &Z because of this post. Thanks Luisa!
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Now that I’m living in France, I’d love a copy of Clotilde’s new book. Merci!
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