Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe

Look around a little and you can find recipes for full-sized tomato tartes tatin, however I think the original mini-tarts still work the best. The New York Times’ large version from 2008 calls for a pound of cherry or grape tomatoes, but I think that’s still too watery, and I don’t much care for the presentation. If you’re hell bent on making a single large tart, dry the slow-roasted tomatoes until they’re nearly caramelized in the oven, then do your best to arrange the pieces in an attractive pattern. The Colicchio version goes like this:

4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon sherry (or red wine) vinegar
4 roasted garlic cloves (see slow-roasted tomato tutorial)
1 cup caramelized onions (see caramelized onion tutorial)
12 Niçoise olives, pitted
4 roasted tomato halves (see slow-roasted tomato tutorial)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
8 ounces puff pastry, homemade preferred, store-bought is fine

Preheat oven to 425 (puff pastry needs big heat). Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and swirl over high heat until the sugar dissolves, then turns a dark amber. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar, swirl to combine.

Pour equal amounts of caramel into four 4-ounce ramekins. Let the caramel cool for about a minute, then drop a roasted garlic clove, 3 olives and a tomato half into each ramekin. Sprinkle on salt and pepper, then add a generous spoonful of caramelized onions.

Roll out the puff pastry to about a 1/4″ thickness. Using a round cutter, punch out holes the size of the ramekins and place the rounds on top. Put the ramekins on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden. Let the tarts cool for one minute, then — carefully — turn them out onto plates.

At the Grammercy Tavern, these are served as an accompaniment to steak, and that’s a really, really good idea.