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August 2010
Tomato Tart Tatin
Tarte Tatin à la Tomate
photo by France Ruffenach
The
original Tarte Tatin was made with apples, but the same concept
of deeply caramelized fruit turned out on a crisp pastry base
has inspired today’s versions featuring pear, quince, tomato, or
even eggplant or Belgian endive. In Tarte Tatin à la Tomate, a
drizzle of vinegar highlights the caramel, yielding an intense,
savory tart to serve with crisp greens as a first course or
light main dish. It also makes an excellent accompaniment to
chicken or to game such as rabbit.
Don’t
be concerned if the tomatoes look a trifle charred when the tart
is turned out, as they will taste all the better. If you have
some puff pastry trimmings in your freezer, by all means use
them. If not, for the small amount here, I suggest you use
ready-prepared frozen dough. No special pan is needed, just two
frying pans with ovenproof handles.
Serves
4 to 6
-
6
ounces/170 g puff pastry trimmings or store-bought puff
pastry
-
2
pounds/900 g plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
-
Salt and pepper
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1/4 cup/60 g sugar
-
1/4 cup/60 ml red wine vinegar
-
1/4 cup/60 ml olive oil, more for the pan
-
2
or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
-
2
or 3 dried bay leaves
-
1
head garlic, divided into cloves, unpeeled
-
1/4 cup/60 ml red wine
-
Few leaves arugula or frisée, for garnish
Heat the oven to 275°F/140°C.
Sprinkle the cut sides of the tomatoes with salt and pepper and
set them aside. Sprinkle the sugar in a large frying pan with an
ovenproof handle and cook over medium heat, stirring
occasionally, until the sugar melts and toasts to golden
caramel, 3 to 5 minutes. Take the pan from the heat and at once
add the vinegar, standing back as it will sputter and fume.
Return it to the heat, stir to dissolve the caramel, and then
stir in the oil. Again take the pan from the heat and add the
tomatoes, cut side down, packing them tightly so they all touch
the bottom and pushing the rosemary and bay between them.
Roast
the tomatoes until they are very tender and wrinkled, 2 to 2 1/2
hours. Forty-five minutes before they are done, add the unpeeled
garlic cloves to the pan. If liquid remains at the end of
cooking, evaporate most of it by cooking the tomatoes briefly
over high heat, taking care they do not scorch.
Oil a
second frying pan with an ovenproof handle and transfer the
tomatoes to it, arranging them snugly cut side down in a
pattern. Discard the herbs and leave the garlic behind, along
with any juices, in the first pan. Add the wine to the garlic
and heat it, stirring to deglaze the juices and boil them down
to 2 to 3 tablespoons. Pour the liquid and garlic through a
strainer over the tomatoes, then push through the garlic pulp.
Set the tomatoes aside to cool. The tomatoes may be cooked up to
a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
On a floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a
10-inch/25-centimeter round and prick the dough so it rises
evenly. Transfer it to the pan to cover the tomatoes and tuck
any excess dough down around the fruit. Bake the tart until the
dough has risen and is crisp and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Let the tart cool for 5 minutes, then turn out it onto a platter
and garnish with the arugula. Alternatively, let it cool in the
pan, then turn it out and serve it at room temperature. Tarte
Tatin à la Tomate may also be cooked up to 8 hours ahead and
kept in the pan. Warm it briefly in the oven before turning it
out.
Excerpted from THE COUNTRY COOKING OF FRANCE
by Anne Willan, Chronicle Books, 2007.
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