Tomatomania

Been in St. Tropez enjoying the long weekend with friends and since I’m suffering from never ending vertigo slash rose hangover and another is pregnant, another with a baby and the last…think she just doesn’t care to do anything with the kitchen. So basically our team is worthless this weekend so I’m posting an old dish I made way back yonder in May. This dish was inspired by my new book at the time called ‘Cooking in Provence.’ I really don’t like tomatoes that much…but seems like I’m always doing something with them. This is a tomato tart with a puff pastry crust. I stacked the tomatoes just a little too high so it took a really really long time to bake. I’ll redo and repost at a future time when it’s not too hot to use the oven.

Succulent Tomato Tart
Check out the cookbook 'Cooking in Provence.' It has some wonderful recipes with beautiful pictures. This recipe I followed was amazing. The tart's supposed to cook for about 1.5 hours, although, mine took about 3 because I stacked too many tomatoes in the middle. The tomatoes dry out and confit and turn into this nicely caramelized tart with an explosive sweet and savory flavor. This is great because you can make it way ahead of time and keep it in the fridge.
FOR 6

INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds tomatoes (about 15 depending on size)
1 puff pastry sheet (the one I used was about 12")
1 cup mascarpone cheese
Basil leaves, chopped
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
Some amazing olive oil

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 180 if celcius). Mix the mascarpone and chopped basil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside. Slice tomatoes into rings and set aside. Lay out the puff pastry onto a baking sheet and spread the mascarpone mix leaving just a small edge at the outer circumference. Arrange tomatoes over lapping each other. Put some of the scrap bits in the middle so the tart doesn't cave in too much. But what you don't want is to tover stuff like I did. The tart should be slightly concave. I'll redo and post a better example next time. Drizzle some oilve oil. About 2 tablespoons. Pop into oven for about 30 minutes. It starts to get watery and you'll get worried. That's just normal. Then lower the heat to 300 degrees (or 160 celcius) and wait another 45 minutes. If you did it right, the tart should be perfect. Serve at any temperature.