This savory version of tarte
Tatin is a delicious vegetarian addition for your Thanksgiving feast. The dish
is, traditionally, a dessert—a French upside-down apple tart made by covering
the bottom of a shallow baking dish with a little butter and lots of sugar, adding
apples, and covering the whole with a pastry crust. The butter and all that sugar
turn into caramel while the tart bakes. The caramel becomes the topping when tart
is inverted onto the serving plate.
This version also
has apples, but only a passing nod to the load of sugar in the dessert. The
fennel caramelizes into an amazing experience, while the apples and sage become
a delicious sauce. Topping the whole with crumble goat cheese, when the tart
comes out of the oven, is optional, but it’s a superb touch.
During this season, I’m
thankful for family, friends, and food. My boys have cooked
beside me since they
were old enough to watch from their highchairs. Here’s my youngest, Ross, helping
a few years ago (34 years ago!). He helped with the Savory Tarte Tatin, too,
and we wondered where the name tarte Tatin came from.
We turned to our trusty Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst (a wonderful reference book). They told us the tart was created by a pair of French sisters who lived in the Loire Valley and earned their living making it. Further research found Friends of the Tarte Tatin, a website full of pages of information, including pictures of the sisters—Stéphanie and Caroline—more history of the tart, a recipe, and a bibliography. A fun site!
Savory Fennel Apple Tarte Tatin
Adapted from The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook, by America’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
(9 ½ by 9-inch), store-bought sheets are a great convenience
2 tablespoons olive oil,
divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon plus one pinch
table salt, divided
2 fennel bulbs, stalks
discarded (1 bulb cut into 6 wedges, 1 bulb halved, cored, and cut lengthwise
into ½-inch-thick slices), look for bulbs that will be about 4 inches tall
after trimming
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled,
cored, halved, and sliced ½ inch thick
4 teaspoons chopped fresh
sage
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 ounces (½ cup) goat
cheese, crumbled (optional – although it’s a terrific addition)
Directions
375 ℉
Adjust oven rack to middle
position. Unfold pastry onto lightly floured board or counter and roll into 11-inch
square. With pizza cutter of sharp knife, cut pastry into 11-inch circle. Transfer
to parchment-paper lined baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and
refrigerate while preparing filling.
swirl |
Swirl 2 tablespoons oil over bottom of 10-inch nonstick skillet or seasoned cast iron skillet, then sprinkle with sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt.
arrange |
Arrange fennel wedges in pinwheel shape, fanning out from center of circle. Fill in gaps with sliced fennel.
cook |
Cook, without stirring, over high heat until fennel turns deep golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes (if pan isn’t sizzling after 2 minutes, cook slightly longer.
Off heat, sprinkle with apple, sage, and ¼ teaspoon salt. (Forgot to take a picture at this point - oops.)
be careful - hot skillet! |
Carefully transfer chilled dough to skillet, centering over filling. Being careful of hot skillet, gently fold excess dough up against skilled wall all the way around. With a paring knife, pierce dough evenly over surface 10 times.
mm-mmm, chocolate pockets |
We took the scraps of puff pastry, made little pockets, and filled them each with 5 or 6 chocolate chips. We baked them on a small baking sheet while the tart baked (about 15 or 20 minutes).
bake until deep golden brown |
Bake tart until crust is deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer skilled to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
Run knife around edge of
crust to loosen. Using potholders or dish towels, carefully place serving
platter on top of skillet, and, holding platter and skillet firmly together, invert
tart onto platter. Transfer any fennel that sticks to the tart. Sprinkle with
goat cheese. (Also forgot to take a picture with the cheese!)
Happy Thanksgiving, one and all! |
Something poisonous is coming March 1, 2022!
About Argyles and Arsenic – book 5 in the Highland
Bookshop mysteries
In the latest novel in the Highland Bookshop Mystery Series,
a murder at a baronial manor leads to a poisonous game of cat and mouse—with the
women of Yon Bonnie Books playing to win.
Available for pre-order in hardback and e-book from your
locally owned independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. Or ask your public library to consider ordering it.
The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine since 1990 and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter or Instagram.
that looks and sounds amazing Molly!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy! It was soooooo good.
DeleteIt's funny how my mind works. I see "fennel" in the ingredients and think, "Oh, licorice taste. No thanks."
ReplyDeleteAnd yet I had a meal with fennel roasted with the meat and it was lovely. Why the prejudice. I wonder?
I may have to make this (with the goat cheese, for sure) just to prove to myself to be more open minded!
"fold excess dough up against skilled wall" I'm sure you are "skilled" (although I can't speak for the walls!), but I think you mean "skillet",
Ha! You're right, Libby. The walls of my skillet are not so very skilled. I wonder if the licorice flavor disappears when fennel cooks? I've been put off by fresh fennel, but not when it's cooked. If you try this recipe, let me know what you think.
ReplyDeleteI will.
DeleteDo you arrange the apples as precisely as you do the fennel?
Good question. No, not as precisely. They cook down into a sauce, so you don't see the pieces of apple when the tart is finished.
DeleteThis will be my first foray into French cooking! My husband loves apple pie & I think the fennel will add an interesting savory taste. I really like fennel sliced in a salad. Thankyou for sharing the recipe.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I hope you like the tart as much as we do.
Delete