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When tomato season is approaching, I always get excited. Tomatoes are definitely one of my absolute favorite veggies (some would say it’s a fruit, but let’s not get into that). They’re so versatile—sweet, sour, umami—and can be used raw, cooked, grilled, charred, jammed, you name it. The other day, I woke up craving tarte Tatin, and of course, I had to make the puff pastry from scratch. You’d be surprised how easy and forgiving the dough is. I prepared the tomato layer using tomatoes, olives, and thyme, which instantly brings to mind pizza flavors. A glaze of balsamic vinegar and honey added a great sweet and sour touch to the tomato layer, which is flipped upside down when serving. I topped each piece with grated feta, black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. It was so delicious that my wife and I ate the entire pan in one sitting. Oops! It’s a great project for the weekend!
Making the puff pastry: in a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and gently toss the flour and butter together with your hands. Make sure the butter is very cold otherwise it will melt in your hands. At this point, the butter is still in large chunks.
Slowly slowly, 1/2 tsp at a time, add the ice water to the bowl. Use your hands to mix the water in the dough. After adding all the water, bring the dough together. We still want the butter not to be fully combined in the dough. Transfer the dough to a floured surface.
Gently pat the dough with lightly floured hands until it’s about 1 inch thick and roughly 5×8 inches. Fold the dough on itself in thirds. Wrap it tightly with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours (if you want to do it the night before, just take our the dough from the fridge 10 min before starting to work on it again).
After the dough has been chilled, transfer to a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 6×12 inch rectangle, 1/2 inch thickness. Fold the rectangle into thirds, turn it 90 degrees, and roll it out into a 6×12 inch 1/2 inch thick rectangle again. Then, fold into thirds again. Turn it 90 degrees and repeat. You’ll repeat rolling and folding 5 times in total.
Wrap the dough up with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.
Prepare the tomato layer: in a wide oven safe pan (the one you gonna bake the tarte tatin in) on medium heat, add olive oil and garlic confit. Cook for 1 min, then add the tomatoes, dry thyme and salt. Cook for 4-5 min, stirring constantly. Add the olives in, cook for 2 more minutes and remove from the heat to a plate. Let it cool to room temperature.
Prepare the glaze: in the same pan, add the vinegar and the honey. Cook for one minute and remove from the heat.
Preheat your oven to 400F or 200C.
Assembling the tart Tatin: Place a round piece of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato-olive layer to the pan with the glaze. Remove the puff pastry from the fridge and roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut it to fit the size of the pan and place it on top of the tomatoes. Score the top of the puff pastry with a knife to allow steam to escape.
Bake for 25-30 min.
Remove from the oven, and let it cool in the pan for 10 min.
Place a flat plate on top of the tarte tatin and flip upside down.
Cut a piece with scissors and top with grated feta, black pepper, and drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top.
YASSS!
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