One of my favourite things about summer is all of the fresh local produce at the farmers market, so I tend to head down every Saturday morning. The market starts out slowly in the spring, with asparagus and then strawberries. By July, things pick up, with a flurry of new things every week.
Out of all of the amazing produce, one of the things that I look forward to the most is the tomatoes. There is just something irresistible about field-ripened tomatoes that keeps me longing for them all year round.
Although I usually start off tomato season with some beefsteak tomatoes in BLT’s, this year I went with something a little different — a savoury tomato tatin! (A tatin is a sweet or savoury tart or pie with the pie crust is on the top instead of the bottom.)
While I was coming up with the recipe, I had two different ideas. The first was to slowly roast some Roma (or plum) tomatoes to bring out their flavor. The second was to use heirloom cherry tomatoes baked until they were just bursting and releasing their juices to the bottom of the pan. After struggling for a while I decided to just make them both! You can never really have too much tomato-y goodness!
For the slow roasted tomato tatin I went with Roma tomatoes, as they tend to have fewer seeds and to be less juicy, which makes them ideal for a tatin. A sweet tarte tatin normally starts off with a quick caramel sauce, and I decided to go the same way for the tomato variety. I melted the caramel sauce with some balsamic vinegar to bring in some tangy, savoury notes. Balsamic vinegar goes really well with tomatoes in general. Thyme is another great pairing, so I added some of that along with garlic, salt and pepper to round out the flavours. After the sauce is made, the tomatoes are added to the pan, which is placed into the oven to slowly roast and bring out all of the glorious flavours. Since I was going to be slowly roasting the tomatoes for a few hours anyway, I had time to caramelize and add onions. Once the tomatoes are roasted, the crust is added and the tatin is baked until the pastry is golden brown.
The slow-roasted tomato tatin took more than two hours to make, so I wanted to keep the heirloom cherry tomato tarte tatin as quick and easy as possible! I started out with the same caramel sauce, and then simply tossed the cherry tomatoes into the pan, followed by the puff pastry and baked the whole thing until golden brown and bubbling.
Another great thing about the summer is the availability of fresh basil, and I could not resist serving the tomato tatins topped with a fresh homemade basil pesto! I also topped them with a creamy and tangy goat cheese, baby arugula, and toasted pine nuts. Served with a salad, these tomato tarte tatins make for an amazing light meal that celebrates the market fresh tomatoes and summer!
Slow Roasted Tomato Tatin
A savoury slow roasted tomato tart tatin that is a perfect way to enjoy perfectly vine ripen summer tomatoes!
ingredients
- 2 pounds plum tomatoes, cut in half
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
directions
- Sprinkle the cut sides of the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
- Heat the sugar and water in an oven proof skillet over medium heat until the sugar turns liquid and lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Carefully add the vinegar, wait for the caramel to stop sputtering, remove from heat and add the garlic, thyme and oil.
- Place the tomatoes face down in the sauce and bake in a preheated 275 oven for 2 hours.
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook until caramelized and a deep golden brown, add 2 tablespoons of water and deglaze the pan and set aside.
- Place the onions on top of the tomatoes.
- Roll the puff pastry out and cut a circle a little larger that the pan.
- Place the pastry over the tomatoes in the pan folding the edges over and cut three slits into the top to vent steam.
- bake in a preheated 450F/230C oven until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Cherry Tomato Tatin
A Fresh and savoury cherry tomato tart tatin that is just busting with flavour!
ingredients
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
directions
- Heat the sugar and water in an oven proof skillet over medium heat until the sugar turns liquid and lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Carefully add the vinegar, wait for the caramel to stop sputtering, remove from heat, mix in the oil, garlic thyme, salt and pepper and add the tomtoes.
- Roll the puff pastry out and cut a circle a little larger that the pan.
- Place the pastry over the tomatoes in the pan folding the edges over and cut three slits into the top to vent steam.
- Bake in a preheated 425F/220C oven until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Beautiful! that is a tatin I adore.
Cheers,
Rosa
Very nice! I will put this in my things to try!
Wow! What beautiful photos of both recipes. I will be making this soon…just have to decide which one will be first!!! Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe.
That is such a cool idea! Can't wait till my tomatoes are ripe.
Beautiful and massively delicious sounding…excited to make this!
oh thank you!! i will need to try this recipe with all the tomatoes that I am growing in my garden.
xx
callie
I remember seeing a sweet tomato tatin in Bon Appetit two summers ago that I was positively enamroed with, but this savory version looks equally if not more delicious!
Bye Bye tart tatin… this savoury version with tomatoes is amazing!
Savoury tatins always beat sweet ones!
I had a dinner party on Wednesday night and made individual tomato tatins with sliced and roasted grape tomatoes and a few caramelized onions. It was a huge success. Yours look beautiful!
wow this looks so delicious…
very nice like it
thank you so much ^_^
happy nice day
hi Kevin thanks for the recipe! My tomato tatin is about to come out of the oven – can't wait, smells fantastic!
Had to check this out — what a fabulous idea. I don't mind rolling up my sleeves for an time consuming recipe like the roasted tartin when the resulting dish turns out like yours did. Very nice.
Thanks Kevin!!!!! Is amazing,,, wow wonderfu!!!!
I love any tatín, but I must say this tomato tatín looks superb!!!
Thanks for sharing it Kevin
Love from Spain
Marialuisa
Awesome tatin with tomatoes! I've got just the perfect garden fresh tomatoes to make this with! Thanks! Love your blog!
It was amazing and even good cold the next day for lunch. Love your ideas and blog. Keep up the great work
I made this last week, and I think it was one of the best things I have ever made. Thanks for your blog and look forward to making more of your recipes.
Thank you very much for such a tasty tatin recipe! It was delicious both hot and the next day! Here is a photo proof: http://i063.radikal.ru/1208/99/24270438cbde.jpg
I made this for friends tonight with tomatoes from my garden. It was fantastic!! I was a bit worried mine would stick when I flipped it out, but out it came. Thanks for sharing, I would make again for sure!!!