Caramelised Baby Leek Spelt Flour Tarte Tatin

I bought a bunch of these baby leeks at the farmer’s market and wanted to make something special with them rather than just chopping them into other things like I would normally. They are so much easier to peel and chop than normal onions and the flavour is mild and sweet. They also cook quicker. This is why they end up being ingredients in other dishes. I am intrinsically lazy and if I have leeks (or spring onions come to that) in the house the normal onions just sit there waiting.

Making a Tarte Tatin is not as scary as it sounds. You just have to be confident when you turn it out. And this one has none of the butter and sugar used to make the caramel that is usually abundant. I use honey and balsamic vinegar instead. You still get the nice sticky, sweet and caramelised effect that you need in a Tarte Tatin just fewer calories and less messing about. Yay.

I used my olive oil spelt flour pastry (recipe here) for this tarte but you could use shop bought puff or shortcrust pastry if you like. I used about half of the pastry for this 8 inch tarte. Use the rest to make a quiche or empanadas.

You will need an ovenproof frying pan/skillet with a metal handle (plastic melts in the oven and gets messy). The amounts below are for my 8 inch/20 cm frying pan that serves 1 (or 2 at a push) with a nice salad. Whatever size you make you will need to fill the pan snugly with the leeks so adjust the amounts accordingly.

Caramelised Baby Leek Tarte Tatin Recipe

Serves 1-2. Vegetarian

• about 250 g baby leeks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp honey
• sea salt & black pepper
• dried thyme
• balsamic or sherry vinegar syrup reduction (it comes in squeezy bottles)
• a handful of breadcrumbs
• finely grated manchego/parmesan
• olive oil spelt flour pastry (or your choice of pastry)

Preheat the oven to 200 C. On a floured surface,  roll out the pastry to about 2 or 3 mm thick and cut out a circle about the same size as the top of the frying pan. Put in the fridge to rest.

Prepare the leeks by cutting off the dark green ends, cutting in half lengthwise and rinsing under the tap to remove any dirt hiding under the layers.

Put the olive oil in the frying pan/skillet and cover the base, round side down with a snug/tight even row of leeks. You can trim the leeks to fit the pan You want to fill any gaps as much as possible. Drizzle over the honey and balsamic vinegar syrup. Season well with thyme, salt & pepper and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes.

Sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs and a little grated cheese all over the top of the leeks and remove from the heat.

Cover the leeks with the circle of pastry and tuck the edges down the inside of the pan encasing the leeks. Prick all over the top of the pastry with a sharp knife and bake for 25-30 minutes (depending on size) until the pastry is cooked.

Using oven gloves, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. When ready to turn out, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the sides. Using oven gloves if still hot, place a large plate upside down on top of the pan and press down hard, then quickly and carefully flip the whole thing over so the pan is upside down and the tarte falls out onto the plate. Remove the pan and replace any leeks that may have fallen out of their place.

Serve warm or at room temperature with a simple green salad.

The only thing to be scared of is picking up the hot pan without oven gloves. Don’t do it. It really hurts. But the tarte was worth it.

Yellow Cherry Tomato Tarte Tatin with Fresh Herbs

I bought some of these little organic yellow tomatoes at the market and have been saving them to star in something rather than just adding them anonymously into salads. Their beauty deserves a leading role.

A tarte tatin is one of those recipes, like souffle, that strikes fear into the hearts of many. This however, is really easy. There I’ve said it. I’m just waiting for the backlash now.

I used my simple spelt flour olive oil pastry recipe to keep it vegan and because it’s so much quicker than using butter and letting the pastry rest. I used honey and a sherry vinegar syrup drizzle to add sweetness but you could use agave syrup (to stay vegan) and balsamic syrup would be lovely too.

Sprinkling the tomatoes with a handful of breadcrumbs before covering them with pastry soaks up a lot of  the juice that leaks out of the tomatoes while cooking and helps to hold them together with the honey.

Turning it out is the scary part but be careful and confident, or get The Washer Up to do it because you burnt yourself on the handle of the frying pan. You will need an ovenproof frying pan obviously, no plastic handles please that would be messy.

You could also use a shop-bought puff pastry for this recipe to save time. The recipe for the olive oil pastry is here. I used about half of that amount for an 8″ tarte. The amount of tomatoes will depend on the size of your frying pan. You need to cover the base snugly so they can’t move about.

Yellow Cherry Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe

Serves 2, vegan/vegetarian, wheat-free. I used an 8 “/20 cm ovenproof frying pan/skillet

• about 250 g yellow (or a mix) cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp honey/agave syrup
• sea salt & black pepper
• dried oregano
• balsamic or sherry vinegar syrup
• a handful of breadcrumbs
• olive oil spelt flour pastry (or your choice of pastry)
• fresh basil, thyme or oregano leaves to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Put the olive oil in the frying pan/skillet and cover the base with a snug even layer of cherry tomatoes. You want to fill any gaps as much as possible. Drizzle over the honey/agave syrup and balsamic/sherry vinegar syrup. Season well with oregano, salt & pepper and leave to cook over a medium heat for a few minutes.

Meanwhile on a floured surface,  roll out the pastry to a rough circle about 2 or 3 mm thick and about the same size as the top of the frying pan. Sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs all over the top of the tomatoes and remove from the heat. Cover the tomatoes with the circle of pastry and tuck the edges down the inside of the pan encasing the tomatoes. Prick all over the top of the pastry with a sharp knife and bake for 25-30 minutes (depending on size) until the pastry is cooked.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes (preferably longer). When ready to turn out, tip away any excess liquid (I didn’t have any) and run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the sides. Using oven gloves if still hot, place a large plate upside down on top of the pan and press down hard, then quickly and carefully flip the whole thing over so the pan is upside down and the tarte falls out onto the plate. Remove the pan and replace any tomatoes that may have fallen out of their place.

Serve at room temperature scattered with the fresh herbs. Slice and eat with a green salad or offer around thinner slices as a canape before dinner.

Bon Appetit!

Caramelized Shallot and Goat’s Cheese Tarte Tatin

I wanted to use some of the wild thyme we picked yesterday while walking the dog. All the wild herbs are in flower at the moment here, very pretty..

Look at these basil flowers, aren’t they beautiful? I have never seen a basil plant flower like this. We have normal basil and a purple basil plant on our roof terrace but neither of them have flowered like this. This was in someone’s garden so we couldn’t pick any, such a shame, can you imagine how lovely they would look on a Caprese salad…. maybe another day.

This thyme was growing wild at the side of the road so we picked some..

I had a couple of little bags of shallots in the fridge so I thought I’d have a go at a tarte tatin. A tarte tatin is an upside down tart normally made with puff pastry. You make the filling in a caramel (apples are the classic filling) then top it with puff pastry, bake and turn it out the right way up to serve. The sweet caramelized shallots contrast really well with the sour, sharp goat’s cheese and the thyme adds a classic herbal flavour.

Caramelized Shallot & Goat’s Cheese Tarte Tatin Recipe

Serves 2 Vegetarian

Adapted from a James Martin recipe

• about 500 gr shallots
• 1 sheet of puff pastry (defrosted in the fridge overnight, it has to be cold when you use it )
• 5 slices of a small log of goat’s cheese (about 1/2 cm slices)
• 3 oz sugar
• 1 oz butter
• fresh thyme sprigs & flowers
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the unpeeled shallots on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper, scatter over some thyme leaves, toss together with you hands to coat evenly and roast for 20 minutes. (You can peel them first, but I find it easier to peel them when they are cooked).

When they are cool enough to handle peel the shallots by squeezing them out of their skins, spirinkle with a few more thyme leaves and a pinch of salt. Melt the sugar over a highish heat in a saucpan until you have a caramel. Don’t stir it, swirl it. Add the butter and stir it to melt it in. As soon as the butter has melted into the sugar pour it into an 8 inch/20 cm round baking dish and quickly tumble over the shallots in so they fit tightly and in one layer. The sugar will start to harden (don’t touch the sugar its really hot!).

Roll out the pastry if necessary to about 2 or 3 mm thick. Then cut out a circle about 1 inch bigger than the dish. Put the pastry on top of the shallots and tuck it in around the edge in between the shallots and the inside of the dish.

Bake in the 2oo degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked. Take the tart out of the oven and leave it for 1 or 2 minutes to stop bubbling. (Don’t do it straight away or leave it any longer because the sugar will harden and you won’t be able to get it out). Turn the grill onto high. Put an ovenproof plate on top of the tart dish, hold it tightly over and flip the tart dish over quickly and carefully so the tart plops out onto the plate. Leave it for a second to let any stray shallots fall down then remove the baking dish. Put the slices of goat’s cheese, one in each quarter and one in the centre, sprinkle with a few more thyme leaves and put it under the grill for a few minutes or until the cheese melts.

Garnish with thyme flowers and serve with a rocket salad dressed with olive oil & balsamic vinegar, or some thyme buttered new potatoes.

Delicious!!