You say tomato
Slow Roasted Tomato Tart Tatin
Here’s one for all your summer garden party needs: a sweet, tangy and juicy tomato tart tatin to add plenty of colour to the table. Perfect for a veggie lunch, a starter or as part of a delux summer SPREAD.
I’ve just got home from a fabulous week with the extended family in Provence. As there were seven hungry mouths to feed at every meal (not including the two babes, their hungry mouths were taken care of, never fear*) we (my mother and I) decided to impose a cooking ROTA to share the burden. Genius! 24 hours of (mostly enjoyable) labour, then 48 hours of sweet sweet repose. Also, an excellent excuse to peruse the local markets and spend hours fingering the plentiful and beauteous produce.
My family are carnivores, to say the least. DS and I are trying to eat less meat, but it’s often tricky on a group holiday to convince others that vegetarian can be ‘festive’. Oh, but it can! Especially at this time of year with all that indecent produce about. Sure, you sometimes have to be a little more inventive in the kitchen, but what’s life without a challenge? Beautiful, satisfying and enticing vegetarian feasts can and will be yours to share.
This succulent tart was part of a vegetarian spread, also featuring my courgette, date and pistachio loaf which was devoured in moments. A huge green salad with escarole (the king of lettuces), rocket, cucumber, ricotta and seeds, as well as a perfectly crusty baguette completed the affair.
*I’m not yet sure how little AS will cope without his fire roasted beetroot purée and garden grown mulberries. City life be tough.
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Slow Roasted Tomato Tart Tatin
15 minutes active time, 2.5 hours cooking time, serves 6
summer / autumn / showing off / party / vegetarian / starter / main course / on a budget / baking
The perfect summer tart: sweet, succulent and juicy. And only FIVE ingredients. The hands on preparation time is minimal, but the tomatoes do need plenty of time in the oven to get that deliciously slow roasted, caramelised taste. The roasted tomatoes will keep in the fridge for up to a week, so you could always cook them up in advance and bake the tart when you need it. The tomatoes on their own also make a mega addition to summer salads.
* Vine tomatoes - 12, large
* Olive oil - to drizzle
* Balsamic vinegar - to drizzle
* Fresh basil - a handful of leaves
* Puff pastry - 1 sheet
Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C.
Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and arrange them cut side up in a roasting tray. Mix a few dashes of olive oil and balsamic vinegar together in a bowl, then brush or drizzle over the tomatoes. Season well with sea salt and black pepper, and garnish each tomato half with a strip of fresh basil.
Bake for about two hours. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.
Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees C.
Brush the bottom and sides of a 30cm tart tin with some more olive oil and balsamic. Place the tomatoes, cut side down, in the tin, squeezing them in tightly in one layer.
Top with the pastry sheet (cut if necessary to just larger than the size of the tin). Tuck the edges of the pastry down between the tomatoes and the tin. Bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.
Leave to cool slightly before flamboyantly flipping the tart out onto a serving plate. To achieve this move, place a large plate over the tart tin, then holding the tin and plate together tightly, flip the whole thing over. The tart SHOULD just pop out.
