Savory Tarte Tatin

Savory Tarte Tatin

Have you had as hard of a time cooking this week as I have? Thanksgiving is all about the food, and once that’s over the leftovers just never seem to end! I’m convinced that my containers of leftovers multiplied in the fridge. But once the leftovers were finally gone, we could see that we had a bunch of vegetables in the crisper drawers that needed to be used, as well as a batch of dough from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. So off to the cookbook shelf it was.

Flip, flip, flip, hey! Savory Tarte Tatin. Veggies, bread, cast iron skillet, some seasonings and that’s it? That seems like something my Thanksgiving-addled brain can handle. The cookbook I landed on was The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook. The authors are from the Pacific Northwest and we’ve had nothing but excellent luck with the recipes in this cookbook. If you’re new to cooking with cast iron, we highly recommend this book. The local angle was one of the primary reasons we bought the book, and their recipe for cornbread pudding didn’t hurt either.

I adapted this recipe slightly, based on the vegetables we had on hand, but overall, this was simple, flavorful, and best of all, required little mental energy.

Savory Tarte Tatin, adapted from The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook

• 1.25 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 Tbsp lard
• 5 Tbsp water

• 2 medium carrots, diced or sliced
  

  Look at that golden brown crust!

• 1 large turnip, peeled and diced
• 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1 large rutabaga, peeled and diced
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled and quartered
• Salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp Sherry
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)

First, make the pastry

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
2. Add the butter and lard and pulse in the food processor until the mix has the consistency of small peas.
3. Add one tablespoon of water at a time until the dough comes together in a ball.
4. Form the dough in a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it for 30 minutes.
5. Time Saving Tip: You can use an orange sized ball of dough from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook in place of this pastry.

Next, make the filling

• In a large pot of salted water, add the carrots, turnips, and parsnips to the pan.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat but keep the mix at a slow boil.
• Add the rutabagas and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Drain the veggies and transfer to a large bowl.
• Add the onions.
• Next mix in the spices and the olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Mmmm, veggies!

Make the Tarte Tatin

• Preheat the oven to 400.
• In a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter.
• Stir in the dry Sherry.
• Add the veggies and turn the heat up to medium-high.
• The veggies will start to caramelize.
• Move them around the pan a bit, but don’t really stir them.
• After 5-7 minutes, remove the pan from the heat.
• Roll the cooled dough out to a circle just slightly bigger than the pan.
• Drape the dough over the veggies and carefully tuck the dough in to the sides of the pan.
• Cut a couple of vents in the top of the dough.
• Brush a beaten egg over the dough.
• Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Place a plate upside down on the skillet.
• Carefully flip the whole thing over (I recommend doing this over a sink in case of drips).
• Cut into wedges and serve.

Notes: Wow. This doesn’t look like a simple recipe does it? But trust me, it is actually very easy. Chop veggies, boil slightly, toss with olive oil, cook with butter for a few minutes, cover with dough, and bake. You can use just about any spices you want. Some Secret Stash Salt would be great, as would a bit of hot sauce (maybe something from Zane and Zack’s?). You can use just about any root veggies you have. Carrots, beets, celeriac even? Brussels sprouts? Absolutely! You’re basically just precooking them a bit, then cooking them with butter and topping with a crust. As I mentioned earlier, this will go a lot faster if you have a bucket of dough in your fridge. We almost always do these days because it is so easy to make fresh bread with these recipes.