Savoury Tarte Tatin Food

SAVOURY TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• You will need a small, shallow, circular oven-proof dish for each diner.
• Roll out the pastry (or buy ready-rolled sheets) and cut out circles just larger than the oven-proof dishes.
• Meanwhile heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions until they just start to caramalise and then add the mushrooms and garlic.
• Cook for 2 or 3 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Lightly oil the oven-proof dishes.
• Place some of the onion-mushroom mixture in each dish and scatter with the Feta, tomatoes and olives.
• Place the pastry on top tucking the edges down the sides of the dishes.
• Brush the pastry with milk or beaten egg and bake in a medium oven 200°C for 20 minutes until the pastry is well risen and browned.
• To serve, run a sharp knife around the edge of the pastry to loosen it, put a plate on top of the dish and quickly turn it over.
• Remove the dish (carefully--it's hot) so that the pastry top now becomes a tart bottom.
• Add a few drops of Balsamic vinegar to each Tarte just before serving.

TOMATO & CARAMELISED ONION TART TATIN

Steps:

• Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan until the butter has melted. Cook the onion over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until beautifully golden, stirring often. Stir in the sugar and cook for another couple of minutes. Tip the onion and juices into a bowl and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C.
• For the pastry, rub the butter into the flour to make fine crumbs. Stir in the parmesan, thyme and a pinch of salt. Add the egg yolk and 2 tbsp cold water, then mix to make a dough. Wrap in cling film.
• For the tomatoes, heat the butter and oil in a 20cm tart tatin tin on the hob until quite hot. Stir in the sugar and garlic, then put in the plum tomatoes cut-side down with a few thyme sprigs, and sizzle for no more than 1 minute. Scatter in the whole cherry tomatoes and tuck in a bit more thyme. Take off the heat and spread the onions on top. Season with salt and pepper.
• Roll out the pastry until it's slightly bigger than the top of the tin. Lay it over the onions and tuck any excess down the sides.
• Bake on a baking sheet for 25 minutes until golden. Cool for 5 minutes, invert a plate over the top and upturn the tart onto it. Scatter with extra thyme and black pepper.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Roll the pastry to a 3mm-thick round on a lightly floured surface and cut a 24cm circle, using a plate as a guide. Lightly prick all over with a fork, place on a baking sheet, then cover and freeze while preparing the apples.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Peel, quarter and core the apples. Put the sugar in a flameproof 20cm ceramic tatin dish or a 20cm ovenproof heavy-based frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook the sugar for 5-7 mins to a dark amber caramel syrup that's starting to smoke, then turn off the heat and stir in the 60g diced chilled butter.
• To assemble the tarte tatin, arrange the apple quarters very tightly in a circle around the edge of the dish first, rounded-side down, then fill in the middle in a similar fashion. Gently press with your hands to ensure there are no gaps. Brush the fruit with the melted butter.
• Bake in the oven for 30 mins, then remove and place the disc of frozen puff pastry on top - it will quickly defrost. Tuck the edges down the inside of the dish and, with a knife, prick a few holes in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for a further 40-45 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
• Allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hr before running a knife around the edge of the dish and inverting it onto a large serving plate that is deep enough to contain the juices. Serve with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

SLOW-ROAST TOMATO TATIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Melt the butter with a splash of olive oil in your widest frying pan. Add the tomatoes, skin-side down, in a single layer (you can do this in 2 batches if they won't all fit) and cook over a low heat until they release their juices. Lift out with a slotted spoon and rearrange in a tart tin (roughly 23cm), skin-side down - cram them in as they will shrink a little and you don't want any gaps. Add the sugar and vinegar to the pan, and cook until the pan juices are reduced and syrupy. Drizzle over the tomatoes in the tin, then scatter with the oregano or thyme and season.
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a good 25-26cm round. Lay on top of the tomatoes, and tuck the edges down. Use a fork to prick holes all over the pastry - this will help the steam to escape.
• Sit the tart tin on a flat baking tray and bake for 30 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Let the tart sit for 10 mins, then run a knife round the edge to release the pastry. Carefully flip the tart over onto a serving plate or board and scatter with more herbs to serve.