16 February 2011

time to tart yourself up, sugar

We've had so many tomatoes this summer it's bordering somewhere between the sublime and the ridiculous.  Don't get me wrong - I love tomatoes and, when they're finished, you can guarantee I'll be complaining that I can't wait for next summer's crop.  But right now keeping up with them is a mission.  We give some away, we've made more than a dozen jars of relish, and still the bowls of beautifully glossy red toms are taking over the kitchen.  Drastic times, drastic measures - time to consult alternative tomato uses. 

Now, a tomato tart isn't really all that alternative, but it's a blog so I reckon I have poetic licence to be a little melodramatic from time to time.  However, something that a tomato tart IS is tasty.  Especcially this little beast, from mindfood.com.  The tomatoes, which are naturally sweet anyway, caramalise in their own sugars, and the vinegar counterbalances with a touch of tang.  That combined with the fact it takes half an hour = perfect, in my book.  We've had two this week, for dinner and for lunch.  Whack a salad alongside for a more substantial meal, cut into squares for a portable lunch. 

1 frypan which can go in the oven
tomatoes, cut into thick slices, enough to cover pan
40 g butter
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 sheet puff pastry
handful fresh herbs and cracked pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
  2. Heat butter, sugar and vinegar in pan until butter melted, sugar dissolved and mixture burbling a little.
  3. Remove from heat and place slices of tomato all over pan.
  4. Lay sheet of pastry on top, folding excess corners toward the middle.
  5. Cook in oven for 25-35 minutes (until pastry puffed and golden).
  6. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and flip (carefully) onto serving platter.  Sprinkle with fresh herbs and a good grind of pepper. 
Nb: I used cherry toms, but any will be good.

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