There are a plethora (love that word) of recipes out there for tomato tartes tatin, and they are surprisingly different. Many look prettier than mine, in that the tomatoes remain plump and neat as they are cooked for a much shorter time. However after a few experiments I found that they just spurt their juice everywhere when sliced and are disappointingly watery.
So here I pre-cook the tomatoes, and deliberately give them a bit of a squash with a fork so the juices run into the pan. These juices are then cooked down with some sugar and balsamic vinegar to make a sticky glaze which gives some real 'oomph' to the tomatoes and a deep savoury-ness to what could otherwise be a bit of a bland tart.
This is delicious when warm - not straight from the oven (too messy), and not cold (slightly claggy texture), but is just as good re-heated the following day. Lovely served with Jersey Royals and a crisp green salad.
Cherry Tomato Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
- 650 g cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 230 g circle of ready-rolled puff pastry
- 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
- 50 g vegetarian or vegan parmesan-style cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F / Gas Mark 5.
- In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the cherry tomatoes. Cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes turning occasionally until starting to brown and release their juices. Squash the tomatoes gently with a fork to release even more juice, and remove from the heat.
- Oil the base of a 24cm cake tin, springform tin or ovenproof frying pan, and scatter in the pine nuts. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and arrange in your tin/pan, then season with salt and black pepper. Heat up the remaining tomato juices left in the pan, and add the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Boil for a minute or two until the liquid has turned syrupy, then pour it over the tomatoes. Grate the parmesan-style cheese over the tomatoes.
- Unroll the circle of puff pastry and spread it evenly with the sun-dried tomato paste. Pick up the pastry so it is tomato-paste side down, and place over the tomatoes, tucking in the sides if necessary so that the tomatoes are completely covered. Prick the pastry in 5 or 6 places with a sharp knife to release steam as it is cooking.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, by which time the pastry should be golden and crispy. Leave to rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then place your serving plate over the tin and flip it over to turn out, (top tip - I do this over the sink as some stray juices always escape!). Slice and serve!
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Nutrition
Make it vegan: Just omit the parmesan, (remember to adjust seasoning accordingly - you may want to add a little more salt), and check that your puff pastry is vegan.
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Wow! Going to make this with the tomatoes from my garden!
Ooh lovely - let me know how you get on!
What a beatiful looking tart, so vibrant and colourful. Great tip about cooking the tomatoes first too, after all no one wants a soggy bottom! Thanks for sharing with The Pastry Challenge 🙂
I know you've been over but I wanted to stop by and say thanks for submitting this to Meat Free Mondays, I was delighted to publish it as a featured recipe. It’s great inspiration for everyone. Stumbled, Pinned and Tweeted 🙂
Wow stunning, found this from Jac's Tinned Tomatoes blog, I'll definitely be giving this one a try
Awesome recipe! I just have a loooooot of tomatoes from my parents house and would like to make different thing than the tomatoes sauce, we have enough! I will try it, thank you!
Lovely - hope it works out well!
Tarte tatin's, especially savoury ones are just fabulous. I totally need to make this recipe - I love that cherry tomato filling!
Thanks Thalia - can't go wrong with a bit of puff pastry and just about anything on top!!
Ooh, I can just imagine how delicious that tart is.I used to make a tomato tart in a shortcrust pastry case which was pretty good, but I reckon this one probably tops it 🙂
Thanks - love a good shortcrust tart too, with just about any filling!
What a beautiful tart!! Lovely recipe, I really like addition of the pine nuts here, quite unusual 🙂
Thanks Margot - love pine nuts in just about anything tomatoey! An expensive habit though... oops!
Love the sound of this. Tarte Tatin is one of my favourite deserts but I've never had a savoury one.
Thanks Claire - savoury ones are awesome too... Not quite as juicy and caramel-y as the sweet version but still very good!
Another awesome recipe 😀 love the vibrant red colour x
Thanks Nadia!