Tomato tarte tatin

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a 25 cm ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the halved tomatoes, cut side down, season with salt and pepper, and cook undisturbed for 8 to 10 minutes, pressing them gently now and then with the back of a slotted spoon, until they blister, pop, and give up their juice into a thick puddle around them.
2. Lift the tomatoes out onto a plate with the slotted spoon and set aside; don’t wash the pan. The sticky, caramelised fond left behind is the base the glaze is built on.
3. Add a little more olive oil to the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until softened and just starting to turn golden at the edges.
4. Pour in the balsamic vinegar and honey, raise the heat slightly, and simmer for about 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from the base of the pan, until the mixture is thick, dark, and syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. Take the pan off the heat. Nestle the tomatoes back in, cut side down, packed in a single even layer with the shallots and garlic filling the gaps between them. Season lightly again with salt and pepper.
6. Lay the cold puff pastry over the filling and tuck the edges down inside the rim of the pan, around the tomatoes rather than over them. Prick the pastry a few times with a fork so steam can escape.
7. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden brown and well risen and the juices bubbling at the edge look thick and glossy.
8. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge to loosen it, set a serving plate face down over the pan, and invert the two together in one confident motion; the tomatoes will end up on top. Scatter with torn basil and flaky salt, and finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

• Don’t wash the pan between the tomatoes and the glaze. The juices and browned bits left behind after blistering the tomatoes are exactly what the balsamic and honey reduce into; washing the pan throws away half the flavour of the dish.
• Small, firm, ripe tomatoes hold their shape best. Cherry or grape tomatoes, or a mix of cherry and slightly larger cocktail tomatoes for variety, work better than one large beefsteak tomato cut into wedges, which releases too much water and can leave the base soggy.
• Invert the tart while it’s still warm, not hot and not cold. Five minutes of resting lets the glaze firm up just enough to hold together on the flip; wait much longer and it can start to stick to the pan.
• Best served the day it’s made, warm or at room temperature. Leftovers keep, loosely covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days; reheat in a 180°C oven for 8 to 10 minutes to recrisp the pastry, a microwave will leave it soggy.

Ingredient substitutions

• All-butter puff pastry is the traditional and preferred choice here. It browns more deeply, tastes richer, and laminates more distinctly than pastry made with vegetable shortening. In Germany, the refrigerated Blätterteig sold in the chilled section is usually already all-butter and is a good default; in the US and Canada, most supermarket puff pastry, including Pepperidge Farm, is made with vegetable shortening instead, so look specifically for an all-butter brand such as Dufour.
• Homemade rough puff pastry is a reasonable middle ground for anyone who wants to make their own pastry without committing to full classic lamination, which buys little here since the pastry ends up as a flat lid rather than a laminated showpiece.
• The pastry must go on cold, straight from the fridge. Puff pastry that has softened at room temperature won’t puff properly in the oven and is more likely to shrink or slide off the filling as it bakes.

Sources consulted

• The Kitchn: tomato tarte tatin recipe
• Joy the Baker: easy tomato tarte tatin