Tomato Tarte Tatin
There are days when the entrepreneur with an office in her spare room will find herself, still clad in her pink polka-dot flannel PJs in mid-afternoon (she has been sitting there since 6am) trying to conduct a telephone interview for a story that’s due like right now while two boys attempt to wash a 100 pound dog in the next room, having just spread poo all over him in the back yard.
She may then wind up mopping up a muddy bathroom when she should be working, because her husband has had gout since Wednesday and has a knee the size of a melon. She may run out on an errand without looking in the mirror and remembering she has neither showered nor rid herself of her raggedy-ann eyes (mascara above and underneath) nor brushed her hair for two days, and greasy strands are sticking out sideways all over her head. And then realize she has eaten nothing but coffee, cake scraps from a photo shoot and those little square caramels since 6 am.
There are days when the self-employed mum may end the day applying Malbec liberally to her face by Tim Horton’s cup, sitting in bed with her laptop and a new brace that she hopes will help her plantar fasciitis, but isn’t helping with the prospect of expanding the family any further.
But then there are days when she gets to make a tomato tarte tatin and call it work. This came from a lively (and at times, nasty) debate over whether or not a tomato can be used in purely sweet dishes, like a tarte tatin. Turns out they can, with sublime results. A tarte tatin, if you’re not yet acquainted, is an inverted pie made with caramel and fruit cooked first in a skillet then topped with puff pastry and baked. It’s like pie extreme. The tomatoes are brilliantly different.
Tomato Tarte Tatin
adapted from a recipe torn from an issue of Bon Appétit, where it is credited to Brooklyn-based food writer Ian Knauer.
8 large Roma/plum tomatoes
3 Tbsp. butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half a package of 2 blocks), thawedPreheat the oven to 425?F and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut an X in the bottom (not the stem end) of each tomato and blanch them for about a minute, plunging into cool water afterward and slipping off the skins. Cut them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Set a heavy 9″ cast iron skillet over medium high heat – add the butter to the pan and swirl it around as it melts and foams. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan and arrange the tomatoes rounded side down in concentric circles, fitting them tightly together and filling the pan (don’t worry if you have leftovers). Place the skillet over medium heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the juices are released from the tomatoes, then bubble and cook down and turn golden. (Lift the tomatoes up occasionally and let the caramel run underneath them to keep them from sticking and burning.) Meanwhile, roll the pastry out to about a 9″ round.
Remove the pan from the heat, drizzle the vanilla over the tomatoes and cover with the pastry, tucking in the edges (no need to be neat about it). Cut a few slits in the top and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden and bubbly around the edges. Cool for about 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate (do it while the tart and pan are still quite warm or the tomatoes will stick) – replace any that don’t come out of the pan, and scrape any caramel and juices that have stayed behind over top. Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream.
And yes, I’ve remembered that it’s Free Stuff Friday, and I have some loot! The folks at Bernardin sent over a pretty marvy canning set – an enamel canning pot filled with all your canning needs – a canning rack, jar lifter, funnel, lid lifter, bubble remover/headspace gauge, 4 mason jars with lids, pectin, and canning DVD. And ’tis the season.
I’d love to hear all about what you’re preserving, or making for dinner, or cleaning off your dog. As always, I’ll pick a name from the comments at random next Tuesday.
September 24 2010 | appetizers and dessert | 110 Comments »
