City Daily Photo‘s June theme is ME.  I found this out by looking at Virginia Jones’ Paris Through My Lens blogpost. This photo of ME was taken by a student during our 2017 school trip to France. We spent a week in Paris and then headed south on the TGV to Avignon. It was a gorgeous day so, on the way to Arles where we were going to spend a couple of days before returning home, we stopped at the Pont du Gard. We all put our toes in the water and spent a couple of hours lounging about like lizards, sunning ourselves in the March sunshine.

I first visited the Pont du Gard in 1987, the first time I took students to France. I have been back several times since then, with friends, with clients when I worked with Chef Érick in Arles, with students. It is an amazing place. One of my favorites places in the world.

How about a Tomato Tart today? Dreaming of Provence in the summer makes me think of it. This recipe is from Recipes from Provence, René Husson, Éditions Fleurines, 2006. The dedication says:

  For those who love Provence … C’est moi! Definitely ME!

Tomato Tart  Tarto à la poumo d’amour

Pie crust (make your own or buy one that you roll out)

500 grams (1 pound) tomatoes

200 grams (10 ounces) slices of swiss/gruyère cheese

100 grams (1 cup) grated cheese

1 sprig of thyme

bread crumbs

Dijon-style mustard

olive oil

salt, pepper

Peel, seed and slice the tomatoes in rounds. (I don’t do this… I just slice them!)

Put the pie crust in a pie pan and spread a nice layer of mustard on the bottom.

Lay the cheese slices on top, then cover with the tomato rounds, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with the grated cheese and the crumbled thyme.

Drizzle all over with olive oil.

Place in a hot oven for 40 minutes. (Not much direction here… other recipes I have used call for 20-25 minutes at 400˚F- until crust is golden brown and tomatoes have started to shrivel.)

Here are three older posts on my Blogspot blog with recipes for tomato tart/pie–

#1  #2  #3

Bon appétit, mes amies et mes amis! Enjoy this beautiful Saturday! Bake something good for someone. Or just for yourself. Do you have a favorite photo of yourself? Does it bring back a happy memory? I hope so!