Duo de Donna Hay:Tomato Tarte Tatins

To Show off your Early Girls


The current issue of Donna Hay Magazine provided the inspiration for these cute mini Tomato Tart Tatins which were extremely simple to make. Instead of using the suggested cherry tomatoes I picked out the smallest specimens of Early Girls from Dirty Girl, the first I've bought this year. These tomatoes are dry farmed and burst with intense sweet flavour. The recipe requires pan-frying the halved tomatoes, shallots (also available from Dirty Girl), brown sugar, butter and sherry vinegar until they start to caramelize, before dividing them up into mini-muffin pans along with a sprig of thyme in each. (At this stage I popped the tray into the freezer to cool to a chill before adding the pastry which could start to melt otherwise.) Each is topped with a snug circle of puff pastry (I cheated and used my favourite locally made French Picnic pre-rolled pastry, cookie-cut to size) and baked until golden. The most difficult part of the entire operation is flipping the tart 180 degrees and out so it is the right way up. But it's not anything to fret over they are very forgiving and any topping that doesn't quite make it first flip can easily be reassembled. Tomato Tarte Tatins are perfect for passing around at parties.

& Lemon Mushroom and Mozzarella Toasts
To Show off your Fried Herbs

Making recipes from Donna Hay Magazine isn't rocket science and the resulting tastes often lack complexity, but there is something satisfying about turning out something so pretty, wholesome and devourable in under 10 minutes. That's what happened when I made the cover story Lemon Mushroom and Mozzarella Toasts with Oregano oil. Except I used Basil. What they don't warn you is how much those leave spit when you add them to the hot oil. I've got the burns on my forearm to prove it. Maybe oregano doesn't spit the same way? Despite the quick flash of pain, the toasts hit the spot for a quick, easy Sunday night supper for these two ravenous San Francisco habitants. You can never have too much mozzarella in the house at this time of year. Hmmph, and unfortunately I've run out until next weeks shop...

Local Resources
Mushrooms from Far West Funghi
Mozzarella via Cowgirl
Tomatoes, Shallots and Basil from Dirty Girl
Thyme from Green Gulch Farm
Pastry from French Picnic (via Wholefoods)
Oil from Bariani
Bread from Acme
Lemon from Brokaw/Will Avocados

Archives
2006 | Camper English
2005 | Cheese Sandwich

© 2007 Sam Breach

Duo de Donna Hay:Tomato Tarte Tatins