french tomato tart

tomato season is finally in full swing, meaning the markets are bursting at the seams with meaty heirlooms in all their stripy glory.
this tart is an excellent vehicle for these tomatoes because it makes no attempt to disguise them or to cook them down into a different kind of beast. i'm all for oven-roasted tomatoes, of course, but sometimes it's difficult to gild the lily, especially when you've got specimens like these.this is "rustic" french cooking at its finest: a simple savory tart dough slathered with good mustard, tiles of tomatoes, a few dabs of goat cheese and a smattering of summery herbs. no fussy custards, no slow-caramelized onions, no curls of spinach. and it's wildly good, with the mustard serving as the stroke of brilliance (don't be shy with it). leftovers accompanied me to work the next morning, eaten cold with a salad. a lunch to feel smug about, as i so often do.if i were to do this again, i would probably juice at least some of my tomatoes, because they make for some post-baking puddles. i thought about this beforehand but was loathe to discard the most flavorful bits of such beautiful tomatoes, so i went ahead as is and had to "drain" the liquid off before serving. next time i might even blind bake the crust before filling it, and then tent the edges with tinfoil when it goes back in the oven with the tomatoes and cheese inside. this would give it a little extra resiliency against errant tomato juices, because in the immortal words of julia child, "nobody likes a soggy bottom."
i also will say that in keeping with my staunch refusal to keep all-purpose flour in our new york kitchen, i had no choice but to use white whole wheat flour for the crust, which i didn't think would be an issue after my spectacular results using it in a galette crust. i found it slightly distracting in this tart tough, though, a bit tough. if you're insistent on unrefined flours, i would go for a whole wheat pastry flour here.
french tomato tart with chevre & herbs
adapted from david lebovitz
makes one 9 or 10 inch tart

• one unbaked tart dough (see recipe below)
• dijon or whole-grain mustard
• 2-3 large ripe tomatoes
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• two generous tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, chives, chervil, or tarragon (i used marjoram and thyme; delicious)
• 8 ounces (250 g) fresh or slightly aged goat cheese, sliced into rounds (or smears, if your cheese is very soft--or if you're feeling very inspired you can slice your chevre with unflavored dental floss, which works like a charm)

for tart dough:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see note in header)
  
• 9 tbsps (1 and 1/8 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

make the dough by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl. add the butter and use your hands, or a pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture.

mix the egg with 2 tablespoons of the water. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten egg mixture, stirring the mixture until the dough holds together. if it's not coming together easily, add the additional tablespoon of ice water.

gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.

once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides, roll the dough around the rolling pin then unroll it over the tart pan. "dock" the bottom of the pastry firmly with your fingertips a few times, pressing in to make indentations.

preheat the oven to 425ºF (see note below). spread an even layer of mustard (about what you would use on a sandwich) over the bottom of the tart dough and let it sit a few minutes to dry out (i stuck it in the fridge, uncovered, to help chill the dough).

slice the tomatoes, seeding and juicing at least half of them (if not all of them; see note above) and arrange them over the mustard in a single, even layer. drizzle the olive oil over the top (i skipped this). arrange the slices of goat cheese on top and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs.

bake the tart for 30 minutes or so, until the dough is cooked, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned. 425º is quite hot, so it's a good idea to check it midway through and turn the heat down if the top is getting too dark before everything else appears cooked. depending on the heat of your oven, if the cheese doesn't brown as much as you'd like it, you might want to pass it under the broiler until it's just right. season to taste with salt and pepper--i like fleur de sel or kosher salt here.