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Feta and tomato tarte tatin – vegetarian recipe

The feta and tomato tarte tatin is a savory rendition of the classic French tarte tatin, easy to make and very impressive, great to serve as an appetizer or main dish! Find this and many more recipes with pictures on the Giallozafferano App (in English) http://itunes.apple.com/app/giallozafferano-recipes/id384387249?mt=8

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Today we’ll be making a tasty and unusual upside down tart, the feta and tomato tarte tatin, a savoury rendition of the classic French tarte tatin with apples, easy to make and very impressive. It can be served as an appetizer or main dish and it tastes great the next day, too! Let’s see how to do!

Ingredients for a 9-inch tart
For the shortcrust pastry
• 1 ¾ cups (200 g) of cake flour
• less than 1 stick (100 g) of butter
• 1/3 cup (70 ml) of ice cold water
For filling
• 1 lb (450 g) of cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup (50 g) of feta cheese
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 oz (30 g) of stale bread (crust removed)
• 2 tbsp of raw sugar
• 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp of dried oregano
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
First of all, prepare the shortcrust pastry, so take a food processor with the metal blade and combine the flour… and the cold butter — roughly cut into pieces — then pulse until the mixture is mealy. That’s it, it takes only a few seconds, as you can see. Now transfer the mixture to a bowl… and pour in the ice cold water: perhaps place a glass of cold water in the freezer for about 10 minutes. As shortcrust pastry has a high fat content, all the ingredients have to be cold, so that the dough can be easily handled. Now knead to blend, then transfer to a work surface and knead briefly until smooth and elastic. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 40 minutes.
While the dough is resting in the fridge, take a large pan, about 9 inches (24 cm) in diameter, add a little oil and a clove of garlic, that has been chopped or crushed with a garlic press, and sauté on a very low flame until softened, not brown; then add the thyme and allow to gain flavour. Now arrange the cherry tomatoes in the pan, with the cut side facing up — you have to wash the cherry tomatoes, remove the stem and the green part, cut in half and squeeze out the juice, then strain to remove the seeds and set aside. Now arrange them closely together in the pan, working in circles from the outside to the centre… with the cut side facing up, as said before. After that — remember to use an oven-safe pan, like this metal pan — season each tomato with a pinch of salt… and a pinch of raw sugar… you can sprinkle the remaining sugar all over the pan… pour in the balsamic vinegar, still keeping the heat as low as possible to keep it from burning… finally sprinkle with pepper… and oregano. Continue to cook for 15-20 minutes adding the reserved, strained tomato juice and shaking the pan occasionally, trying not to flip any tomato over. After adding the tomato juice, raise the heat a bit but be careful not to burn it.
Here we are, 20 minutes have passed, so turn off the heat and turn any upside-down tomato with the cut side up; now sprinkle the crumbled bread on top, so that it absorbs the excess liquid — you can chop the stale bread with a knife or a small blender — and the feta cheese, that has been crumbled or cut into small cubes… perfect, now let’s go back to the shortcrust pastry.
Take the dough out of the fridge… and roll it out to a circle… about an inch larger than the 9-inch (24 cm) pan. If it sticks to the work surface, dust with a little flour. Now roll it around the rolling pin… take the pan… and cover the ingredients, sealing the edges by pressing down with your fingers. Meanwhile, preheat a static oven to 350°F (180°C) and now bake the pan– that’s why your pan should be all-metal, including the handle – for 30 minutes, at 350°F.
After 30 minutes, when the shortcrust pastry is nice and golden brown, remove the pan from the oven using pot holders — as it will be burning hot — allow to cool for 10 minutes, then place a serving plate on top and turn it upside down. If a few tomatoes are stuck to the bottom, don’t worry and put them back to the tart. Be careful, invert the tarte tatin while still warm or the sugar will harden and stick to the pan. And here’s our yummy feta and tomato tarte tatin, see you next videorecipe!