Individual tomato tarte tatin with pomegranate and mint

By zahavah • July 27, 2012 • 0 Comments

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Individual tomato tarte tatin with pomegranate and mint — 1 of 2 Photo by zahavah

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Author Notes: There are a lot of tomato tarte tatin recipes out there that usually include caramelized onion and olives. Inspired by these more traditional tomato tarte tatin recipes and my favorite Middle Eastern condiments, I developed this upside down tomato tart (using the baking instructions in Tasmin Day Lewis' Art of the Tart) and intensified by pomegranate syrup. Pomegranate syrup or molasses is a very thick reduction of pomegranate juice. It should not contain sugar and is puckeringly sour.

I add a tiny bit of tomato paste to further intensify the tomato taste. I rarely use an entire can of tomato paste in one sitting, so I freeze the leftovers by the tablespoon in ice cube trays and pop one out when you need it.

This recipe is for a small tart - perfect as lunch for 1 or appetizer for 2 and made in a pan measuring 5 inches across the bottom - but you can use an entire sheet of puff pastry (about 8 ounces) and a larger pan (9-10 inches across), and double the rest of the ingredients.

This is a winter friendly tomato recipe since it uses baby tomatoes.

Eat the tarte lukewarm – be careful because the tomatoes will be hotter than you expect! - zahavah

Serves 1-2

4 ounces puff pastry
1-2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pinch sugar
salt and pepper
2-3 teaspoons water
12-18 cherry or grape tomatoes; multiple colors are fun
several sprigs mint

Defrost the puff pastry for 20-30 minutes on the counter, or overnight in the refrigerator. (Or, make your own.) Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
In the small (~5 inches across the bottom) pan that can go into the oven, mix together the tomato paste, pomegranate syrup, and olive oil. Add a large pinch of sugar, a large pinch of salt, and several good grinds of pepper. Thin slightly with water until it’s the consistency of maple syrup.
Slice the tomatoes in half through the core and toss them with the syrup in the pan. Arrange them, cut side up in a single layer.
Roll out the puff pastry dough between two pieces of wax paper into a circle about 1 inch larger than your pan.
Transfer the pastry to cover the tomatoes. Tuck the edges around the tomatoes. Cut several short vent in the pastry.
Bake the tarte until the crust is puffed and golden, 25-30 minutes.
Let the tart stand for 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around the pastry to loosen it from the pan. Place a platter on top of the pan and carefully flip the tarte over onto a plate. The tarte may contain a lot of liquid (depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes), so use a towel under the plate.
Chifonnade a few mint leaves and sprinkle them on the tarte. Make sure to eat it before the mint starts to wilt.