TARTE TATIN RED BEETS
Today I decided to reinterpret a great classic of French cuisine: the TARTE TATIN or upside-down tart.
The classic recipe uses apples and there are many variations that replace apples with other fruits; what I propose instead is a savory version starring the red beet, a vegetable normally a bit “overlooked”.
You will obtain an excellent sweet-and-sour savory Tarte Tatin to serve at a buffet as an appetizer or for a tasty aperitif.
You will amaze your guests with an easy, tasty and certainly original tart, perfect for the holiday menu.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 8 SERVINGS
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 red beet (precooked)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
- to taste balsamic vinegar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (00)
- 7 tbsp butter (cold)
- 3/4 cup water (cold)
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 pinch Pepper
Preparation
Put the flour, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and the cold butter cut into pieces into the food processor and blend everything until you obtain a sandy mixture. Place the mixture on a work surface and knead it quickly by hand, adding a tablespoon of very cold water little by little (you might not need it all). Mix until you obtain a firm, homogeneous and elastic dough. Shape into a ball, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for about one hour.
Prepare the beet. Peel it and then slice it into slices about 3 millimeters thick (about 1/8 inch) and place them in a bowl with white vinegar for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, take a baking dish, butter it lightly and sprinkle it with the sugar. Put the dish over low heat and let the sugar caramelize slightly. Remove the dish from the heat and arrange the drained beet slices in a radial pattern on the bottom. Season with salt and pepper and, if desired, add a few drops of balsamic vinegar.
After the resting time, take the dough, place it on a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1 cm (about 3/8 inch). Cover the pan with the beet slices with the rolled dough, making sure to press the dough well along the edges. Trim the excess dough and prick the surface with a fork. Bake for about 25-30 minutes in a convection oven at 356°F. It will be cooked when the pastry turns golden in color.
Now comes the crucial part! As soon as it’s cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool slightly; do not let it cool completely or you will not be able to remove it from the pan. With the help of a knife, gently detach the edges of the pastry from the pan. At this point place a serving plate over the pan and invert the tart. Remove the pan and let it cool. Serve the tatin at room temperature or slightly warm.
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Notes
You can serve it plain or accompanied by goat cheese or other types of cheese. Tarte Tatin versions can have either a shortcrust pastry base, as I did, or a puff pastry base. Both, of course, can be purchased ready-made if you don’t have time to prepare them at home. In the photo for this article, having prepared this savory tart for a Christmas lunch, I decorated it with puff pastry stars that I brushed before baking with some of the beet’s red liquid.
