Tomato Tart for the Humble Lunchbox

Have you ever heard your parents say - tomatoes don't taste like tomatoes anymore? If so, your parents haven't grown their own. Supermarket tomatoes are grown under cover and manipulated to be very red and very uniform. It makes them more appealing to the shoppers when they are nicely stacked up on the shelves.

I am a lucky gal as we have a greenhouse in which we grow quite a number of different tomatoes (please don't ask for the variety as I am bad in remembering names) and different colours. They look amazing in any old salad and they taste like tomatoes used to taste (according to my mum a few years ago). The only problem you might have is that you have suddenly too much of a good thing - and me hating to waste food have to come up with some ideas on how to use them. Of course, chutney is an old favourite and I makes a couple of jars each year and eat a lot of salads but there is just so much salad you can eat. So, one way of using tomatoes is in a tart. You will find several recipes on the web - some with a cream-egg filling, others just tomatoes and some cheese. You always have to keep in mind that tomatoes are quite juicy and you don't want a soggy tart.

I went the cream-egg way but only used a small amount so that the tomatoes weren't covered by the cream. I used a combination of soft goats cheese (from Castlemary farm) and feta (have to admit this was a supermarket one). Fresh herbs from the garden included chives and parsley and some salt & pepper was all I used for flavouring as I wanted it still to taste like tomatoes used to taste :-)

Yummylicious tomato tart

This is a great addition to your humble lunchbox as it can be eaten hot or cold.

You will need:

• Shortcrust pastry (enough to line a 7inch tart tin)
• Fresh tomatoes, cut in half, enough to fill the tart
• Dijon mustard
• handful of fresh herbs
• 100 ml cream
• 1 small egg
• salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

On a floured surface, roll out the shortcrust pastry large enough to line the tart tin. Brush the base of the tart with a thin layer of the mustard (prevents that the base gets too soggy while adding some flavour as well)  Wash and dry the tomatoes and cut in half. Place the tomatoes cut side up onto the tart. 

Mix the cream with the beaten egg and add the chopped herbs. Season. 

Crumble the cheeses between the tomatoes and pour the cream mixture over the tart - making sure that all of the base is covered with the cream. 

Bake for about 15 minutes until the cream has set and the pastry is cooked through (depending on your oven, it might take a bit longer).

Bon Appetit