Recipes › Tomato (Standard) › Tomato Tarte Tatin with Goat's Cheese and Thyme
Tomato Tarte Tatin with Goat's Cheese and Thyme
A savoury spin on the classic French upside-down tart, where whole tomatoes are caramelised in a sticky balsamic and sugar glaze before being topped with buttery puff pastry and baked. When you invert it onto a board, the tomatoes sit jewel-like in their dark, glossy syrup. Crumbled goat's cheese and fresh thyme scattered over the top finish it perfectly.
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Ingredients
- 800 g standard tomatoes, medium-sized, halved horizontally, seeds gently squeezed out
- 320 g ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
- 40 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 20 caster sugar
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 8 fresh thyme sprigs
- 100 soft goat's cheese, crumbleduse a firm, crumbly feta as an alternative
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, picked (optional)
Contains: cereals gluten, milk, sulphites.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200°C fan. Place the halved tomatoes cut-side down on a board lined with kitchen paper and press gently to remove excess moisture. Leave for 5 minutes. This step is important — too much liquid in the pan will prevent the caramel from forming properly.About 5 min
- Melt the butter in a 24cm ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Scatter over the caster sugar and cook without stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until it begins to turn a pale amber. Add the balsamic vinegar — it will bubble up vigorously — and swirl the pan to combine into a glossy syrup.About 5 min
- Scatter the sliced garlic and half the thyme sprigs over the caramel. Arrange the tomatoes cut-side up (they will invert to cut-side down when you turn out the tart) in a single, tight layer, packing them in as the tomatoes will shrink. Season with the salt and pepper. Tuck the remaining thyme sprigs among the tomatoes.About 5 min
- Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into a rough circle about 26cm in diameter — slightly larger than the pan. Lay it over the tomatoes, tucking the edges down firmly around the inside of the pan so the tomatoes are enclosed. Pierce the pastry a few times with a fork.About 3 min
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the pastry is deep golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the pan for exactly 5 minutes — no longer or the caramel will set and the tart will stick.About 40 min
- Place a large board or flat plate on top of the pan. In one confident motion, flip the pan over to invert the tart. Carefully lift the pan away. If any tomatoes have shifted, nudge them back into place with a spoon. Scatter over the crumbled goat's cheese and fresh thyme leaves. Serve warm.About 2 min
Tips
- Squeezing out the seeds and blotting the tomatoes is non-negotiable. Excess water will turn your caramel into a watery liquid and the pastry will be soggy underneath.
- Have a board or plate ready before you invert — once the pan is flipped you need to work quickly before the hot caramel sets.
- Serve this within 20 minutes of inverting. It is a dish that does not wait well.
Ring the changes
- Replace the goat's cheese with 80g of grated Gruyère scattered over the pastry before baking for a more robust, cheesy version.
- Add 6 anchovy fillets among the tomatoes before laying over the pastry — they dissolve into the caramel and add extraordinary depth without being obviously fishy.
Keeping it
Best eaten on the day it is made. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated at 180°C for 10 minutes, though the pastry will soften.
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