A couple of weeks ago I was once again looking out for a fresh new book in the historical fiction section and I was surfing around aimlessly in Goodreads when I came across a fantastic German book from a new author in the scene.
The Bastard from Tolossa - the book title might sound harsh and don't judge me for that - written by Ulf Schiewe is the story of a fictional crusader around 1100 A.D. I am not going to go into any details.
In the book we follow the hero from Tripoli (Lebanon) to his home near Narbonne in the french Mediterrané.
The city of Narbonne is approximately 2000 years old and lies near Toulouse - known as Tolosa in oldern times - and Perpignion.
Now what does this have to do with my mentioned Titel, Savory Summer Tart?
Some 10 years ago my family and I had visited this area of south France.
We used to go to France every July for 2-3 weeks to visit our family there.
Later on, instead of visiting the family in the north, we ended up enjoying the South of France more.
My most memorable holiday in my life happened in south France.
Not that I have any special memories in mind, no, what fascinated me and what was engraved in my mind forever is the environment there.
The landscape and live in general is fantastic.
The hot dry weather does me well, the people are just to sweet and the food... oh my the food!
Olives, wine, seafood, herbs, lavender, thyme, lemon,... yes they have all the food sins in the world over there.
So while I was reading my book I was drifting back in time, remembering the day when I tasted some of the best olives ever in a market near Perpignion.
Oh how much I wished I could show you the pictures we had made at that time.
You would be mesmerized alone by the landscape!
My father had clicked a beautiful snap of pink flamingos leaving the water plains, that picture never reached us after giving it for development, which was such a pity!
Therefore, remembering the good times in the South french Pyrénées-Orientales & Aude departments, I was inspired to bake a savory summer tart with thyme.
This herb can be found growing near the Pyrénées mountain chain and I remember encounting it several times while discovering the country there.
The aroma literally hits you in the dry afternoon heat!
I really wished I would still get some first class Olives from Creta in Goa, but the supply and the season is over for now until september.
Yet I would definitely suggest to throw in some quality black olives, which will enrich the recipe and your experience with my savory summer tart.
Savory Summer Tart
For the Short Crust Pastry:
200 grams flour
100 grams butter
pinch Salt
1 Tablespoon Water
For the Filling:
2-3 small shallots
2-3 Garlic pods
Olive oil to fry
1 egg
100 milliliter cream
1 teaspoon Thyme
½ teaspoon Marjoram
pinch Salt
pinch Pepper
Tomato slices
Start by making the short crust pastry.
Mix the Salt into the flour and crumble the soft butter into the flour, then add the water and form a neat dough Keep it to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Roll out the dough and cut 1 big Tart or mini tarts.
Place them into the buttered mold and poke a couple of wholes into it.
Cover it with some cut out baking sheet and place some beans on top as weight.
Prebake for 10 minutes in the oven until the crust is cooked.
In the meanwhile chop your onion roughly and chop the garlic.
Fry both in a pan with oil for a short while until glossy. Keep to cool a bit.
In a bowl add the egg, cream, salt, pepper, thyme and marjoram and mix well.
Then continue to add in the fried onion and garlic.
Mix it all and pour into the previously baked short crust shells.
Place 1 or more sliced tomato pieces into the center.
bake for another 15 minutes in the oven at 180 Celsius.
Best enjoyed with a good wine and some lettuce vinaigrette salad.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!
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I love savory tarts, these sound wonderful!
Your tomato tart looks perfect and your photos are beautiful. I really need to get a better camera, it makes a huge difference. I'm going to copy this recipe to make. Thanks for sharing it.
Vicki You don't necessarily need a better camera. You just need to find some time to practice and organize a place where you take your snaps with enough light coming in.
You are welcome =D
I LOVE historical fiction, they are always my fav read. A great inspiration for a great tart!
Oh yes? I didn't know that! =P
I hope you are able to get the bugs in your site fixed soon, that is so frustrating! Your summer tart looks and sounds lovely, and the addition of black olives would be DELISH! Hugs, Terra
LOVE savory tart and these sounds and looks delicious Helene! Love the simple tomato slice on top. Actually that is a brilliant idea and I have to remember that to try!
What a great summer tart! I must try this soon. Thanks for sharing & the nice blog visit!
Beautiful tarts! I love how light the filling is. Perfection!
thanks Kiran =)
If I could only be eating this in the south of France… your description is as wonderful as the tart Helene!
I still have a few tomatoes around at the moment, I am fortunate to be able to grow them through winter here in Australia. These tarts would be perfect fro a warm winters day too. YUM
A perfect tart for summer! Would love to have it at breakfast with a glass of newly brewed Turkish tea. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m a huge fan of historical fiction and would love to read the book you’re describing, but I just checked and it’s not available in English. Bummer. It is interesting all of the little triggers of memories – smells, touch, books, tastes. It’s great that this little tart takes you back like it does. Says a lot of the smell and taste of this. Sounds and looks delicious!
I love making tarts during the summer and these look so dainty and delicious!
So summery and delicious, I love it 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Southern France is wonderful! Great food, lovely climate, and wonderful light. This tart is super! I haven't made something like this since, well, last summer! Time to again, don't you think? Thanks for this.
What a gorgeous tart! I wish I made more of these types of things, but I don't since the kids don't eat them. I think it's time to change that.
This is so beautiful and summery! With a huge portion of leaf salad, this makes a perfect dinner!