Tomato tart recipe

This recipe is inspired by a delicious tomato tart that we had some time ago at La Merenda in Nice. La Merenda is a tiny restaurant in Vieux Nice and it serves tiny but tasty dishes according to the local culinary traditions. There is no cheese or mayonnaise in La Merenda’s tomato tart; ripe, tasty tomatoes are the stars in this dish.

Their recipe is of course a closely guarded secret. I didn't even dare to ask for it during our lunch when the tiny restaurant was packed and there were people waiting outside. So this is my twist of the dish. I made it with ready-made thin-bottomed puff pastry, pâte feuilletée, which in France is of good quality and super easy to use.

The recipe makes a chic apéro, “nibbles with a drink”, for 6. Larger slices with green salad make a perfect lunch on a beautiful summer or autumn day when tomatoes are at their best.

Tomato tart recipe


5 ripe tomatoes
About ½ tsp salt
1 package thin-bottomed puff pastry, pâte feuilletée
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp dried Provencal herbs
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp black olives

Preheat the oven to 180⁰ C.

Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle them with salt. Place them in a strainer over a large bowl for 10 minutes so that excess water comes out of the tomatoes. Then wipe the remaining water and salt with kitchen paper.

Roll out the puff pastry in a non-stick 27 cm diameter tart dish. Push the pasty evenly on the tart dish. With kitchen scissors cut the extra pastry lying outside the tart dish. Spread the tomato paste over the pastry bottom and sprinkle with 1 tsp Provencal herbs. Arrange the tomato slices overlapping on top of the tomato paste. Sprinkle 1 tsp Provencal herbs and 2 tbsp olive oil over the tomatoes. Grind some black pepper over them.

Bake for 25 minutes. Then scatter the black olives over the tomatoes and bake for further 5- 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature.