Recipe below: Summer Tomato Tart with Tarragon and Fontina
An incident involving summer tomatoes has stayed with me for more than 50 years. One summer in the early seventies, my sister and I decided we wanted to have a party. The theme would be hits of the 1950s. We didn’t really know that music, but we sensed that its danceable rhythms would get the party moving. And the outfits—ponytails, bobby socks, saddle shoes—were a big draw.
We went to our local record store in search of 45s. The guy behind the counter was of that era and steered us immediately to what we needed. “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Tutti Frutti,” “Peggy Sue,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Blueberry Hill,” “Lollipop,” “Rock Around the Clock,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” A song called “Patricia,” by Pérez Prado, became my favorite. We were in business. We set up a string of lights in our little backyard, got our dopey outfits together, and let it be known this was happening.
My parents were okay with the party, but my father had one important thing to say: “Don’t let those kids near my tomatoes.” He was in love with his tomato garden. He nurtured the plants, talked to them, touched them. He was out there at odd hours, checking, worrying, smoking cigarettes, watering, looking for bugs. We promised him nobody would touch his red August tomatoes.
So many people showed up for our party, it was actually a little frightening, but we kept cool and got the music on and the Yago sangria flowing. The throb and sweat of all those people dancing in our backyard in the August heat became, I thought, a thing of greatness. But as the party progressed, it turned raucous. I saw people head for the tomato garden, and there a sort of phony tough guy fight broke out. There was stupid drunken yelling. And then I saw tomatoes flying, tomatoes smashed on the patio, ripe tomatoes all over the backyard. A sickness came over me. My father, who must have been watching out the kitchen window, raced out in his boxer shorts, screaming. The party was immediately over, the backyard cleared out. My sister and I stared at the destruction in silence. My father stood shaking his head. My guilt and sadness were profound. I cried that night, and I cried the next couple of nights. I still think about my father and those smashed tomatoes at least once every summer, and even now, so long ago, my father now gone, I feel remorse.
I now grow my own tomatoes. I can’t say I’m as intensely involved with them as my father was, but I treat them with the utmost respect, and I hope they’re happy. If you’ve got beautiful summer tomatoes, here’s a good thing to make with them.
You’ll want a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. You can make this without a tart pan, just laying the dough out on a sheet tray, but I like how the tart pan gives it more structure.
Summer Tomato Tart with Tarragon and Fontina
For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup dry vermouth
For the filling:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
About 5 medium, round summer tomatoes, sliced into approximately ¼-inch-thick rounds and set on paper towels to drain off some moisture (any color tomatoes or mix or colors will work; I used medium-size round red ones, but large cherries would be good, too, thought you’d need more of them)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 large sprigs tarragon, the leaves lightly chopped
A small wedge of Fontina Val d’Aosta cheese
1 teaspoon runny honey
To make the crust, put the flour in a food processor. Add the salt and sugar, and give it a few pulses. Drizzle in the olive oil and the vermouth, and pulse until you have a moist but still crumbly mass. The dough should stick together when you pinch a bit of it. If it still seems dry, add a tiny drizzle more of vermouth and pulse again. Don’t let it form a ball. You just want a moist crumble. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, and press it together into a ball. Give it a few quick kneads to make it smooth, and wrap it in plastic. Let it sit, unrefrigerated, for about an hour before rolling so it can relax a bit.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Lightly oil your tart pan.
Roll out the dough. With this olive oil dough you don’t need extra flour for rolling. It doesn’t stick to the work surface. Make a more or less round shape that’s about 2 inches larger than your pan. Drape it into the pan, pressing it down a bit. The dough will be quite rubbery and have a tendency to spring back. Brush the inside of the dough with the mustard. Scatter the shallot on the dough. Arrange the tomatoes over the shallot in a tight single layer. Season with salt and black pepper, and drizzle on a little olive oil.
Scatter on the tarragon, and, with a vegetable peeler, shave about ½ cup of the Fontina over the top. Drizzle on the honey.
Trim the overhang so you have a more or less even 1-inch hanging rim of dough. Fold the overhang in toward the middle of the tart, making little little folds all around (see the photo above).
Bake for about 30 minutes. The crust should be browned, the tomatoes softened, and the cheese melted and lightly golden. Let sit about 20 minutes before slicing.
Erica De Mane 
Thank you!
I just happen to have fontina in my fridge & fresh tomatoes and tarragon (I adore it!) In my garden.
The tale of your dear father’s love of his precious tomatoes is sad; but, having been born in ’54 with musical parents; I know those tunes made for a wonderful dance party …despite the Neanderthals who ruined the garden.
Hi Doolittle, I’m also from’54. Let me know how the tart turns out.
It was even better than I expected!
I used vine ripened heirloom tomatoes from my garden (draining on paper towels is important!).
As a devout cheese lover, just used the chunk of Fontina I had. It was probably not quite double what the recipe calls for (would’ve been fine either way).
I love fresh tarragon; but never have used it much with tomatoes. These flavors are magical together.
P.S. Crust was a little temperamental to roll & fit; but is delicious and well textured and worth the extra fussing. Baking within a tart pan also is a smart move.
Thank you for a recipe I will be making every summer!
Hi KD,
So glad it turned out. If the crust was a problem, my guess is that it needed a bit more wine to moisten it. The dough should be kind of rubbery and easy to roll. When it’s a little dry, it can be crumbly.
A little more vermouth (as noted in original recipe – mea culpa!) Solved the gripping crust issue.
I’m making two of these for brunch tomorrow. Do you think I’m OK to make & construct and refrigerate about 6 hrs ahead of baking as long as I take them out & bring to room temp before popping into the oven?
I’ll use a generous coating of Maille and drain tomatoes well so crust won’t get soggy…. what say you?
KD, I think that would work fine as long as your tomatoes are drained. Have fun!