Vegetarian mains
Slow roasted tomato tarte tatin
This is a intensely flavourful tart, redolent of summer. Although the tomatoes take a while to cook, they require little attention and the result is sublimely delicious. Eat for lunch or dinner with a crisp green salad or lightly blanched green beans.
Ingredients
- 480g cherry tomatoes, cut in half crossways
- a few fresh marjoram leaves (optional)
- olive oil
- 2 large or 3 small onions (red or white), finely sliced
- light brown sugar (1 tsp for the onions, 2 tsp for the tarte topping)
- 250g small potatoes, cut in ½cm rounds
- 20g butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 100g goat's cheese, crumbled
- 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only
- 1 block ready-made butter puff pastry
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 150°C/Gas 2.
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Step 2
Put the tomatoes in a baking dish. Sprinkle with marjoram and a little salt and oil. Bake for 2 hours.
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Step 3
Put the onions in a heavy-based pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cook gently for 45 minutes-1 hour, stirring now and then, until caramelised.
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Step 4
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 5-6 minutes until tender. Drain.
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Step 5
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil with the butter in a 24cm heavy-based oven-proof frying pan. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar, the garlic and balsamic and stir.
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Step 6
Increase the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Layer the tomatoes over the base of the pan, cut side up, then the potatoes and onion. Sprinkle over the thyme and cheese.
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Step 7
Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface and cut a circle the size of the pan. Lay it on top of the veg and tuck in the edges.
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Step 8
Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and crispy on top. Remove from the oven. Using oven gloves, invert the pan onto a plate to tip out the tarte.