14.9.06

Hay Hay! It´s Tomato tarte tatin day!


Blog events...try one and you´re hooked. Just what I needed, another set of deadlines. But then again, such fun.

Which brings us to Hay Hay! It´s Donna Day #5, hosted by Tami of Running with Tweezers, who has come up with the great idea of savoury tarts.

I´m not a finicky cook. My signature dishes rely on punchy flavour and a working knowledge of ethnic shops around town. Not for me the exquisite little tarts with nuts in the pastry, the delicately aligned asparagus, the birds and flowers made with cutoffs. Sometimes I make a quiche, because J loves it so, but mostly my favourite tart is this, the Ximenita 30 minute special, also known as Roast Tomato Tarte Tatin.

If you don´t have roast tomatoes always at the ready (I´m looking smug right now), the cooking time is a little longer, but not much. Just start off by halving plum tomatoes, sprinking them with salt and sugar, drizzling them with olive oil and blasting them in a hot oven for 20 minutes. You can also use cherry tomatoes, or slices of salad ones.

If not, just preheat the oven at 230ºC

For the dough, you´ll need

2 cups flour
3/4 cup milk mixed with yogurt ( or buttermilk, if it´s easier)
2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder
50 gr. butter
1 teaspoonful of salt

You mix the flour, salt, and baking powder, and rub the butter in with your fingers. This takes a minute, I promise.
Then add the milk, and mix it with a wooden spoon. You´ll have a plastery, stringy, not very good-looking dough.
(This is biscuit dough, and one day I will blog long and hard about it, because it´s been a major culinary breaktrhough for me)

Take a cake pan (mine´s an Ikea non-stick 23 cm. metal one). Drizzle a little oil, sprinkle a little sugar. Arrange the tomatoes however you like. I´m not giving precise quantities, because it´s a pretty slapdash operation, and anything goes, but I´d say about a 8.

Grate some hard cheese over. I use manchego. Roll out the pastry, and tuck it over the tomatoes. If there´s leftover dough, make little balls and bake them alongside. They´re awsome.

Put in the oven, and wait about 20 minutes. The top should be golden, and sound hollow when tapped. I´m never sure, and usually break off a piece to try it. It´s an upside down tart, so it´s ok.

Wait five minutes, and turn it over. This is a risky business, but there´s no chance of bad caramel burns as with real tarte tatin, so it´s not too bad.

The result is crispy crust, a dense crumb, gooey cheese, and tomatoes that are intense, sweet, sour, dark red, maybe a little caramelized. I love it.

Eat warm, with some green salad. Leftovers can be reheated in the oven next day.

13 comentarios:

Jen dijo...

I like that you refuse to waste any tidbit of leftover dough. It would a be a crime to do so.

This dish sounds very comforting, nothing beats some tomatoes and cheese!

Anónimo dijo...

This sounds so simple and delicious! Thanks for participating in Donna Day :)

Anónimo dijo...

Hi Ximena! Your savoury tart sounds divine! I just bought a half-pound of Manchego at the market recently - so I'll have to reserve some for just such a recipe!

Anónimo dijo...

Oh, my goodness, this sounds FABULOUS! I can't wait to make it. I need to hurry because local tomatoes won't be at the market much longer here -- but this seems like a fitting tribute to the end of tomato season.

Julie dijo...

Lovely! Every non-fussy baker has something that they do wonderfully well. I love that you made it an upside down tart--so easy. I'd love to hear more about your revelations with biscuit dough:)

Raquel dijo...

I just got home .... HUNGRY!!!! I wish we were neighbours. I´d be right now at your front door.

Anónimo dijo...

invitanos..... y despues te diremos si esta buena o no.
que mas vale una vuelta ahi que dos en la plaza

Anónimo dijo...

The ovenless Cream Puff thanks you for this beautiful tart. How many more can you bake for me before the end of the month? (That's when we get our new stove.)

Anónimo dijo...

it sounds simultaneously summery and fally! good stuff!
cheese and 'maters are so happy together, like sonny and cher back in the good old days ;-)

Anónimo dijo...

I abandon you for awhile and look what happens - recipes like this!! Now if I can just translate all these metric measurements into English ones I'll be all set...

Brilynn dijo...

I love the drawings you do, and this recipe sounds great too.

Ed dijo...

I wish I wasn't so lazy and made my own pastry like you. Love the tart and your illustration skills. Jealous.

Anónimo dijo...

I'm so looking forward to our summer and some decent tomatoes and trying your recipe, Interesting using yoghurt in the pastry. Thanks for participating Ximena.

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