Tomato Tatin is the best made with skinned plum tomatoes and shortcrust pastry from scratch. Yes, it’s a bit of work but you won’t regret a single second of the effort.
Is it dinner or dessert?
It’s true what everyone says about a plum tomato Tatin: it looks like a dessert. Only a dollop of whipped cream seems to be missing. Are these small apricots? Or very firm plums? Should I dust it with icing sugar or grab the tub of vanilla ice from the freezer?
When you look closer, the garlic gives the game away.
Shortcrust or puff pastry?
You can of course cut corners and use puff pastry; I’ve done the easy version myself. But it’s so much more rewarding when the tarte is a proper tarte.
Slicing into shortcrust base rather than squishy puff which goes soggy much too soon is worth the effort of making the pastry from scratch.
And the texture of crunchy crust work better with sweet slippery tomatoes.
Worth the effort
Tomatoes are also a bit of a chore to prepare: blanching, peeling, deseeding, salting. And shortcrust pastry needs to be chilled, then rolled out and chilled again. Plus the caramel glaze burns far too easily when prepared.
It’s all worth it. Medium sized plum tomatoes, Santini or mini San Marzano are the best for this recipe, at least as far as British tomato supply is concerned. They keep their shape fantastically well after peeling and they don’t turn mushy like some other varieties, when blanched.
The pastry
This is the rich version of savoury shortcrust, with added cheese. The combination of cornmeal and plain flour makes it wonderfully crisp and the thyme adds fragrance. I recommend making twice the amount and freezing half for another exquisite tarte occasion.
But the method is simple: blitz all the ingredients in a food processor or rub the butter into the flours mix with your fingers, then stir in water and knead briefly into a ball. It needs to chill so it’s not excessively crumbly when rolled out.
How to skin tomatoes for the Tatin
I’ve admitted it’s a bit of a palaver since the tomatoes should be skinned. You can skip that, but then you’ll be inelegantly picking skins from the elegant tarte later.
And it’s easier than it seems: score the tomato tops, then plunge them into boiling water for half a minute. Then transfer them into icy water and the skins will start peeling off by themselves.
Deseeding, next: with a small spoon or knife scrape the seedy innards. To make sure they are not too watery, sprinkle cut halves with salt and turn onto paper towels for half an hour.
How to prepare the tarte
The pastry will come on top, obviously, but you’d better roll it out before assembling the tarte. Make it slightly larger than your dish or tin which should be 23cm/9 inch in diameter.
The caramel glaze is best made straight in the dish, in the oven – just make sure you don’t burn it.
Garlic, thinly sliced, goes into the caramel with thyme sprigs, then the tomatoes, patted dry off the salt, cut side up.
The pastry disc should cover them and be tucked in around the sides. Cut a couple of vents in it for steam and off it goes into the oven for half an hour or so, until burnished brown and bubbling with caramelised tomato juices around the sides.
It's crucial to let it rest, settle and absorb juices before turning it out. It’s tastier warm than hot anyway – and probably also divine cold except I can’t vouch for it: it never lasted long enough to be tested.
More tomato recipes
Baked tomatoes stuffed with herby cheese and breadcrumb filling. For the vegetarian option skip the anchovies and use vegetarian cheese.
Baked zucchini gratin, a vegetarian bake if you use vegetarian Parmesan. This is an easy recipe for courgette alla parmigiana, or au gratin in tomato sauce.
Tomato and chickpea tray bake with chunks of feta roasting upon the vegetables, spiced and sweet with honey and chilli dressing. An easy vegetarian meal.
More savoury tart recipes
Swiss cheese tart, käsewähe, can be served hot or cold and is equally delicious. Swiss street and marketplace food, a savoury cheesecake, has a shortcrust base and cheesy but light filling. Cut it into slices – who needs pizza?
Fig and prosciutto tart with ready-rolled puff pastry takes about five minutes to prepare and twenty to bake. A divine, seasonal lunch or starter dish, best made with gorgeous Bursa figs.
Caramelised leek and Cheddar tart on shortcrust pastry, homemade or shop bought, is a fabulous, easy dish, as good to serve warm as it is cold.