Tomato tart tatin

I don’t make many savoury bakes, but this tomato tart tatin is delicious! 

I made this tomato tart tatin for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised how well it turned out! I had friends and family visiting for the day and wanted to make something tasty to accompany the buffet lunch I was putting together. 

I used a mix of medium tomatoes and cherry tomatoes: de-seeding them all took quite a while – but trust me, the faff is worthwhile! I didn’t really know what I was looking for when cooking the tomatoes, but if you keep an eye on them, you can tell when the tomatoes have softened all the way through. You can chuck all the tomatoes in the pan at the same time, but you will need to take the smaller ones out much before the bigger ones. I expected there to be quite a bit of juice, but there wasn’t very much at all – not sure if this was due to the tomatoes I was using. However, I deglazed the pan with the sugar and vinegar and drizzled these juices over the tomatoes. 

Having watched people bake tart tatins on Great British Bake Off and MasterChef, I fully expected the turning out of the tart to be really difficult! I was very pleasantly surprised to find the tart came out easily and looked really quite pretty! 

Overall, I was really impressed with this tart. It was simple, but a little time-consuming to make, and the completed tart was really delicious – light, crisp pastry topped with sweet and slightly sour tomatoes! It was perfect for a light summer lunch, and would be great as a vegetarian offering at a barbeque, or for a summer picnic. A great idea to use up a glut of home-grown tomatoes!

Tomato tart tatin

Ingredients

1. 25g butter
2. Splash of good olive oil
3. 800g medium and small mixed tomatoes, halved across the middle and seeds roughly scooped out
4. 1 tbsp light soft brown sugar
5. 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
6. 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or oregano, plus extra to serve
7. 375g block all-butter puff pastry
8. Plain flour, for dusting

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C. 
2. Melt the butter with a splash of olive oil in your widest frying pan. 
3. Add the tomatoes, skin-side down, in a single layer (you can do this in 2 batches if they won’t all fit) and cook over a low heat until they have softened and have released their juices. 
4. Lift out with a slotted spoon and rearrange in a tart tin (roughly 23cm), skin-side down – cram them in as they will shrink a little and you don’t want any gaps. 
5. Add the sugar and vinegar to the pan, and cook until the pan juices are reduced and syrupy. 
6. Drizzle the juices over the tomatoes in the tin.
7. Scatter with the oregano or thyme and season.
8. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a good 25-26cm round. Lay on top of the tomatoes, and tuck the edges down. Use a fork to prick holes all over the pastry – this will help the steam to escape.
9. Sit the tart tin on a flat baking tray and bake for 30 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. 
10. Let the tart sit for 10 mins, then run a knife round the edge to release the pastry. 
11. Carefully flip the tart over onto a serving plate or board and scatter with more herbs to serve.

Puff pastry mince pies

I love mince pies! I have to admit, we do buy shop-bought – especially early in the season. However, not much beats a home-made mince pie and, once you have made the mincemeat, it is so easy to make a batch of pies. Everyone thinks that you are a domestic goddess – even if you do just use shop-bought pastry!

I made the mincemeat a couple of weeks ago, but only got round to making my first batch of mince pies on Thursday this week:  in time for my mum’s arrival! Having had some pretty good puff pastry mince pies from the Co-op, I decided to make my own. However, even Baking Supremo Mary Berry says that she doesn’t make her own pastry – which is a good enough excuse for me, so my pastry came courtesy of Mr Sainsbury!

The co-op mince pies were flat rather than having a curved base, I’ve never made them like this but decided to give it a go. It was actually a lot easier than trying to put disks of pastry into a bun tin and they worked out pretty well – although I think I could have possibly baked them a little longer - but they tasted great anyway!

Christmas Mincemeat

Makes 3 lb (1.35 kg)

Ingredients

1. 8oz (225g) Bramley apples, cored and chopped small (no need to peel them)
2. 4 oz (110 g) shredded suet
3. 4oz (175 g) raisins
4. 4oz (110 g) sultanas
5. 2oz (55g) currants
6. 2oz (55g) dried cranberries
7. 2oz (55g) dried sour cherries
8. 4oz (110 g) whole mixed candied peel, finely chopped
9. 6oz (175 g) soft dark brown sugar
10. grated zest and juice 1 orange
11. grated zest and juice 1 lemon
12. 2 level teaspoons mixed ground spice
13. ¼ level teaspoon ground cinnamon
14. good pinch freshly grated nutmeg
15. 3 tablespoons cherry brandy or amaretto

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients, except for the alcohol, in a large oven-proof bowl, mixing thoroughly.
2. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave the mixture in a cool place overnight or for 12 hours, so the flavours have a chance to mingle and develop.
3. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark ¼, 225°F (120°C).
4. Cover the bowl loosely with foil and place it in the oven for 3 hours, then remove the bowl from the oven. Don't worry about the appearance of the mincemeat, which will look positively swimming in fat. This is how it should look.
5. As it cools, stir it from time to time; the fat will coagulate and, instead of it being in tiny shreds, it will encase all the other ingredients.
6. When the mincemeat is quite cold, stir well again, adding the alcohol.
7. Pack in jars that have been sterilised (see below).
8. When filled, cover with waxed discs and seal.
9. The mincemeat will keep for ages in a cool, dark cupboard but it is best eaten within a year of making.

NOTE: To sterilise jars, wash the jars and lids in warm soapy water, rinse well, then dry thoroughly with a clean tea cloth, place them on a baking tray and pop into a medium oven, gas mark 4, 350F, 180C, for 5 minutes.

Puff pastry mince pies

Ingredients

1. 6 tsp mincemeat (preferably home-made)
2. 2 tblsp milk
3. 250g puff pastry

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
3. Roll the pastry out to approx. 4mm thick.
4. Cut out twelve 8cm disks.
5. Place 6 of the disks on the baking tray and brush with milk.
6. Place a teaspoon of mincemeat in the centre of each disk.
7. Brush each of the remaining pastry disks with milk and then place them, milk side down, on top of the other mincemeat-topped disks.
8. Press down around the edges to seal.
9. Brush the tops of the mince pies with more milk.
10. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden.
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
12. Move pies onto a wire rack to finish cooling.