An idea by Mark Hix with whom I’ve had mixed results. This one seemed to work quite well, though the result was rather wet; we’re wondering if the tomatoes might benefit from a little longer in the over to lose some more of their moisture?
The classic apple tarte tatin is an indulgent dessert but the approach also works brilliantly as a savoury dish. When tomatoes are in season, this is a fresh and summery take. You can mix things up with different heritage tomatoes for extra colour and flavour.
Planning
| serves: | 4 |
| preparation time: | 20 mins |
| cooking time: | 1 hr |
Ingredients
- 6 large vine tomatoes
- 320g pack ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
- 2 tbs olive oil
- leaves from a few sprigs of fresh oregano or marjoram
- Salt & pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas mark 3.
Halve the tomatoes top to bottom and place cut-side up on a large baking tray. We used a bun tray to help support them. Season with salt. Put in the oven and cook for about 1 hour, or until they start to soften and turn wrinkly but still hold their shape. Remove from the oven.
Turn the oven up to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
Unroll and lay the sheet of puff pastry on a clean surface. With a sharp knife, cut out a circle from the pastry roughly 23cm in diameter (or just a little larger than your tatin dish). Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a 20cm ovenproof tatin dish and use it to coat the base and sides. Season the tomatoes with pepper, then place them in the oiled pan cut-side down, sitting tightly together. Prick the pastry circle all over with a fork, hten lay it on top of the tomatoes tucking the edges in around them.
Bake for about 30mins until the pastry is golden and crisp. Remove the tarte from the oven and leave it to cool for 5 mins.
Once the tarte has cooled slightly, ensure the pastry is released from the edges of your dish, put a plate on top of the dish and quickly invert it to extract the tarte. Scatter with the herb leaves and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
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