Tomato and Boursin Tart

I first made some version of this when I was a teenager. It came from one of the many cookbooks around the house, but I’ve long forgotten which.

The original was very simple: pre-made puff pastry, Boursin, thick slices of tomato, olive oil, and dried herbs. I’ve changed bits of it over the years, but not much.

The biggest change is that I make the pastry now as well, specifically John Kirkwood’s flaky pastry. Flaky pastry works particularly well here: crisp, buttery, and sturdy enough to sit under the cheese and tomatoes. If I don’t want to make it, reverting to puff pastry is the obvious move. Blocks and ready-rolled sheets work equally well; the sheet only saves the rolling.

Serves 4-6 as a light meal, 8 as a starter, or more if you cut it into canapés.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

• 255 g plain flour
• 185 g unsalted butter
• 4 g fine salt
• 90 ml ice-cold water

For the Tart

• 150 g Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs
• 3 large ripe tomatoes
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Dried thyme, mixed herbs, or herbes de Provence
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Make the Pastry

Put the butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes. It wants to be very cold, but still soft enough to grate.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Put a box grater in the bowl and grate the butter straight into the flour, dipping the butter in the flour occasionally to stop it sticking. Toss the grated butter through the flour with your fingers, without rubbing it in.

Put the bowl in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes.

Add the ice-cold water and bring the dough together quickly. Don’t knead it any more than needed to form a rough dough. Wrap it and put it back in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Make the Tart

Heat the oven to 220°C, or 200°C fan, with a heavy baking tray inside.

Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle roughly 30 × 40 cm. Put it on baking parchment.

Score a border about 2 cm from the edge, without cutting all the way through. Prick the pastry inside the border a few times with a fork. Put it in the fridge while you prepare the tomatoes.

Cut the tomatoes into fairly thick slices, around 6-8 mm. If they are particularly wet, give the cut surfaces a quick blot with kitchen paper. They should still be juicy.

Take the pastry from the fridge and spread the Boursin over the middle, stopping at the scored border.

Lay the tomato slices over the cheese. A little overlap is fine. Season well with the herbs, salt, and pepper before drizzling olive oil generously over everything inside the border.

Brush the exposed pastry border with beaten egg.

Slide the tart, still on its parchment, onto the hot baking tray. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is well risen and properly golden. Give it another few minutes if the base still looks pale.

Leave it alone to cool for five minutes before cutting it. This is best served warm, not piping hot.

A Few Notes

The olive oil goes on before baking. As well as tasting nice, it helps stop the exposed tomato from drying too much in the oven.

I prefer large slices of tomato here rather than small tomatoes or a finely arranged layer. The tomato should still feel like tomato when you eat it.

Part of what I love about this tart is that it allows its main ingredients – the butter in the pastry, the Boursin, and the tomatoes – to show off. You could add balsamic vinegar, caramelised onions, or another cheese, but I don’t think those extras actually improve it. Like with steak, good ingredients don’t need or want anything else.