Shallot tatins with goat's cheese

Name: Shallot tatins with goat's cheese
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 250 grams plum tomato (eg Santa); 125 milliliters olive oil; 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves stripped off; 1 large sprig fresh rosemary; 50 grams golden caster sugar; 50 grams butter, cut into small dice; 3 Tbsps balsamic vinegar; 500 grams half a pack puff pastry, thawed if frozen; 120 grams ripe log of goats cheese, such as Soignon petit Sainte-Maure, or 3 x 60g Crottin de Chavignol goats cheese, at room temperature; 1 small basil leaves, to garnish; 600 grams shallot – the smallest you can get – or halve them if they are large

Shallot tatins with goat's cheese requires approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes from start to finish. This recipe serves 8. Watching your figure? This lacto ovo vegetarian recipe has 602 calories, 8g of protein, and 48g of fat per serving. Head to the store and pick up plum tomato, golden caster sugar, log of goat's cheese, and a few other things to make it today. It works well as a side dish.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to fan 90C/conventional 110C/gas . Halve the plum tomatoes lengthways and place, cut-side up, in a small shallow roasting tin. Trickle over 2-3 tablespoons of the oil, then scatter with the thyme leaves and some seasoning. Roast for about 45 minutes until the tomatoes soften a little, but still hold a good shape.

Ingredients you will need

Plum Tomato

Thyme

Seasoning

Tomato

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Oven

Remove and cool, spooning over some of the roasting juices.

While the tomatoes are roasting, blanch the shallots in boiling water for half a minute or so, then drain and cool under cold running water. Peel off the skins and trim the root ends. Also peel off any tough inner skins and cut any larger shallots in half so they are all roughly the same size.

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Tomato

Water

Heat all but 1 tbsp of the remaining oil in a large frying pan and toss in the shallots, stirring to coat in the oil. Saut over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until they become tender and begin to turn mid-golden in colour.

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Add the rosemary, season and cook for another 5 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Rosemary

Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Sprinkle the sugar and 2 tbsp water into a smaller frying pan and leave to stand for about 3 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Water

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Put the pan over a low heat, shaking occasionally to mix the melting sugar and stirring gently. When all the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and cook to mid-golden brown.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Remove from the heat and mix in first the butter and then the vinegar. Take care as this might spit a bit you should be left with a nice syrup. Toss in the shallots and tomatoes and stir lightly to coat.

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Tomato

Vinegar

Butter

Syrup

Now stand eight 150ml ramekins on a metal baking sheet.

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Ramekin

Drain the shallots and tomatoes in a colander, saving the syrup, then divide them between the ramekins and set aside to cool.

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Tomato

Syrup

Equipment you will use

Colander

Ramekin

Cut the pastry into 4 oblong pieces on a lightly floured board.

Roll out each one very thinly, then cut out two 9-10cm discs from each piece (the discs should be about 1cm larger than the diameter of the ramekins). Pick each piece up and press the edges gently between your fingertips to make the pastry thinner. Do not prick.

Ingredients you will need

Roll

Equipment you will use

Ramekin

Lay a pastry disc on top of each ramekin, then tuck the edges of the pastry down inside, between the tomatoes and shallots and the sides of the dishes, using the handle of a teaspoon to help. Press down lightly. (The tarts can now be chilled for up to 24 hours until ready to bake.)

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Tomato

Equipment you will use

Oven

Ramekin

Preheat the oven to fan 200C/conventional 220C/gas

Equipment you will use

Oven

Bake for about 18-20 minutes until the pastry tops are crisp and mid-brown.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Remove and cool for 5 minutes (the sugar will be very hot otherwise). Meanwhile, gently reheat the reserved syrup from the tomatoes and shallots with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.

Ingredients you will need

Olive Oil

Shallot

Tomato

Sugar

Syrup

Loosen the pastry edges with a small knife and carefully upend each ramekin on to a small plate.

Equipment you will use

Ramekin

Knife

Cut the goats cheese into 8 thin slices (discarding the rind ends), dipping your knife into a cup of hot water in between each slice. Put one slice on top of each tatin, drizzle over the warm syrup and garnish with little basil leaves.

Ingredients you will need

Fresh Basil