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!”
Gorgeous! I’ve been dutifully canning all our CSA tomatoes this summer (expecting our first in 2 weeks, so trying to go BPA free by stocking up the cellar for the year), but this looks so good I should abandon pint #40 in favor of tart. 🙂
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I must try this recipe! We have the last of the tomatoes that we planted coming in, and this would be a great way to use them! Thanks!!
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Unfortunately, I will not be making this tonight, as someone in our household is getting his wisdom teeth removed, so dinner calls for something pureed. It looks amazing though! I think mustard improves most anything.
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Sure hope today’s my lucky day! Promise it will go to a good home 🙂 That broccoli lentil dish of Clotilde’s sounds spot on.
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What a stunning tart! I’m inspired.
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I have a copy of “I know how to cook” that I’m finally shipping to Belgium after keeping it in storage for three years (what a terrible decision!) and I would so love to have her next book to join it 🙂
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Great giveaway! This looks delicious!
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Every morning I look forward to three things: Walking along the river to work , my first cup of coffee, and The Wednesday Chef. Thank you for your recipes, blog, the adorable pictures of Hugo, quoting a Bronte when you got married and MY BERLIN KITCHEN.
There’s some tomatoes clinging to the vine and a wistful diminishing pot of basil in the garden…hmmm. Must be fate.
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I think Clotilde’s blog was the first subject-specific blog I’d encountered and I was enthralled with it at the time and really opened the floodgates, both for people looking for something interesting to read, and for people to follow suit. I also make yogurt quite regularly, inspired by one of her posts in the early days (her yogurt cake is pretty awesome, too).
And now, I think I must go home and make these: http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/12/vanilla_pecan_squares.php.
Just used up the last of the tomatoes from my garden, but may have to go out and get some to try this recipe!
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This is quite special. I thought the filling of the tart mostly will form by eggs, milk and cheeses. This one is nice…almost just tomatoes. With all these flavors, should turn out fantastic. Just thinking to mash the tomatoes, so it become like mash potatoes, so the tart filling will full of mash tomatoes. 🙂
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It’s such a pretty tart. I bet it’s even tastier than it looks!
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What a beautiful tart! I wonder how it would fare with tomato slices to maximize carmelization?
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That tart looks amazing- beautiful and delicious! Thanks for the giveaway. I would LOVE to have this cookbook!
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This looks so delicious!
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This looks so incredibly comforting! Can’t wait to try it out!
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ooo, this looks good. i’m big into mustard right now and have been thinking about making a tomato tart so…
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A few days ago I made Clotilde’s roasted beet soup with spinach pesto from her book – got the book from the library and now I want my own – so many good recipes in there!!!
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This tart looks amazing and I’d love to win the cookbook!
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sesame and poppy seeds in a tart crust – what a lovely addition!
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What a lovely tart! Our tomato plants seem to be going through an early fall burst of fruiting, so I may just be able to try this recipe out in 2013…if not, it’s going to the top of the list for next summer.
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I’ve made her beet and carrot salad from her site too many times to count. Simple but oh so good.
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Perfect recipe for this time of year. Thank you.
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Ugh, curse this grad school no-oven having studio apartment life! Bookmarking this tart for this time next year 🙂
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Oh, I have some tomatoes that desperately need to be used.
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I’d love a copy!
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Thanks, Luisa! I have never made a tart before. Your writing and photos have again inspired me to give it a try!
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I need to make this tart right away 🙂 And I’ve been salivating over the French Market cookbook too – thanks for the giveaway!
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I love Chocolate & Zucchini!! And oh man, the tomato tart looks divine.
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That tart looks lovely…I want a slice right now.
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Just went to Amazon.com and took a “look see” at this cookbook. Would love to win it, but if not, I will probably order it from Amazon. I’m going to the farmer’s market this Saturday morning to see what I can find. Also checked out her blog and I will be adding it to my list of favorite daily blogs right under yours.
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Oh, goody. There are still lovely tomatoes at the farm stand.
I just have to go see if I have a tart pan that large.
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I just slow roasted the last haul of heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market last night, so sad tomato season is over already.
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I love tomatoes!! This was our first year to grow and can them—so much fun. Love your blog too :0) It would be very nice to win this book.
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The tart looks wonderful, and I’d love to win a copy of Clotilde’s book!
Thanks,
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The tomatoes on that tart look so happy: all slumped and warm on a crisp autumn day. I would love to win Clotilde’s book and try her other recipes, too!
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That looks delicious 🙂
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Ooh, that sounds delicious! I wish my boyfriend was not so tomato averse. I’ll have to bookmark this for some time when I’m cooking for someone besides the two of us!
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This sounds amazing! As do the other recipes you mention.
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The book sounds lovely. I would surely enjoy having a copy.
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Oh, I would love to win! I have been a huge fan of Clothilde’s since I started reading food blogs. I love seeing the crossover between blogs that I’ve been devotedly following for years – glad to see one of her recipes here.
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You’ve made me hungry for Clotilde’s last book!
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This tart looks like the perfect way to use up my late season tomatoes!
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This looks wonderful! I love all of your recipes and read this blog (and your book!) obsessively, but have never commented until now. Your site is especially close to my heart these days as I have just moved to Rostock for a year – just two hours north of your lovely Berlin!
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Yum! I might be giving this a try if my home-grown tomatoes that are ripening in a paper bag right now are still any good. (The plants got tomato blight so we had to harvest the tomatoes before they were ripe, and I don’t know yet if the fruit got the blight too.) My husband doesn’t like cooked onions, so I will either skip them or replace with a moderate amount of leeks.
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I meant to comment earlier, but I had to run out to buy tomatoes after reading this…
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No tomatoes here but I’d love the book
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I have never heard of Clotilde before so I am going to look her up immediately!
Love reading your blog…..we are going to try the tart this weekend!
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It has been the summer of tomato pies for me. A vendor at the farmer’s market sells baskets for a different varieties of heirloom tomatoes. I think I tried them all over the summer! Going to dehydrate some after going tomorrow.
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What a beautiful tart! I love the idea of adding sesame and poppy seeds to the tart crust, too! (And I’d love to win a copy of the cookbook… : )
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This tart looks magnifique! I would love some right now. I’d also love to win the book! 😉
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