As someone who cherishes words just as much as food, christening my dishes is an important part of my cooking pleasure. I like to make sure that the name is simple — although I occasionally lapse into fancy restaurant style just for the fun of it — and that it hints at the composition but retains an element of fun or mystery. One of the naming tricks I favor is using a dessert name for a savory course, and vice versa. It gives the dish a playful persona, and points out the many bridges that can be crossed between the sweet and the savory.

This tomato tart is a glorious example: the tomatoes are topped with goat cheese and tapenade and cooked under a layer of pastry in classic tarte tatin fashion. This allows the filling to bake softly without drying out, and provides a bit of an adrenaline thrill when you have to flip the tart on a serving platter — don’t worry, it will slip right out.

1. Prepare the Pâte Brisée. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a day.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 10-inch ceramic quiche pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil.
3. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and core them. Run your thumb in the hollows of the tomatoes to remove the juice and seeds. Arrange in the pan, skin side down, in a circular pattern. You can crowd them a little; they will shrink as they bake. Season with salt, pepper, herbs, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until softened. Remove from the oven (leave the heat on).
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough in an 11-inch circle and prick all over with a fork. Spread with tapenade, leaving a 1-inch margin all around.
5. Cut the cheese in 1⁄3-inch slices and arrange over the tomatoes in the pan. Lay the dough, tapenade side down, on the cheese, and tuck in the overhanging flaps of dough. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden.
6. Let cool for a few minutes on a rack. Run a knife around the crust to loosen. Put on your best-looking oven mitts, cover the pan with an overturned serving plate, and flip the whole thing carefully. If some of the tomatoes stick to the bottom of the pan, just place them back on the tart where they belong. Serve warm or at room temperature. Just before serving, snip or tear the basil leaves and sprinkle over the tart.

Variations: Instead of tapenade, spread the dough with onion confit, anchovy paste, or pesto. Instead of goat cheese, use slices of buffalo mozzarella, drained and patted dry with paper towels.

Wine: La Nunsio 2002 Barbera D’asti (Italy, Piedmont, red) The acidity of this wine makes it very food-friendly. With its red and black fruit flavors, it is a straightforward (and very affordable) wine that fares well with simple tomato-dominant dishes.