Tomato Tart Tatin with Goat Curd and Basil & Israel

Tomato Tart Tatin is a mini version of the famous tart but boy is it special. Served with Goat Curd and Basil this will know your socks off.

Tomato Tart and a trip to Israel

There was a time I couldn’t face another tomato.

Whole days in the sun, picking on hands and knees, followed by a tractor ride home in the chill of late afternoon.  Four months of dry flaky hands, and the constant pungent, raw,  green leafy smell  of the vines on clothes and body.  During these months on a Moshav in Israel I ate almost nothing other than tomato. Pay from our Farmer included accommodation, a loaf of bread per day ( between two) and about $5.00/ 100 shekels.

There were tomatoes for breakfast, just like apples. Tomato sandwiches for lunch and tomato bruschetta for dinner. We discovered some of the adjoining farms we passed on the road to our fields grew onions and garlic and potatoes and we soon learned to trade tomatoes for some dietary variety. The small and very expensive store on the moshav stocked basics such as olive oil and condiments. My room mate and I managed to have dinner parties, inviting other workers from the area, for interesting variations on tomato dishes.

Really, the most popular place on the collective farm in the Negev dessert, was the bar, located in a bomb shelter. Going down the ladder at the beginning of the evening was infinitely easier than ascending that ladder at the end of the night. This would often be in the very wee small hours. The drink served was Arak, a very potent aniseed concoction best worn off in bed. Sadly, most mornings began at 5 am.  This is  the reason for picking on hands and knees. Yes , I know, but a girls’ gotta have fun.

I was reminded of these times when I saw a tomato tart in  Rachel Grisewood’s, inspiring book . Rachel is the founder of Manna from Heaven. I absolutely love her book “Manna from Heaven” .  It is full of things I would like to cook.

I have changed the recipe a little to suit what I like. I always have goat curd, but if you can’t find any you can use goat chevre or even pesto or sour cream, to finish off your tart. Serve it as an entree or lunch or cut into quarters to serve as a canape.

Tomato Tart Tatin with Goat Curd and Basil

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Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 200 gm flour
• 100 gm butter
• 40 ml water 2 Tablespoons
• 6 small ripe tomatoes quartered seeds removed
• 40 gm brown sugar 2 tablespoons
• 50 ml ximenez sherry vinegar or a flavourful vinegar of your choice
• 20 ml olive oil 1 tablespoon

Instructions

 

• Prepare the oven at 180 C / 370 F.
• Put the tomatoes in a colander, lightly salt and leave to drain.

For the pastry

• Combine the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in the food processor. Process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and pulse till just combined.. Turn onto a bench and press together, wrap and put in the fridge for 1/2 an hour
• Put the sherry vinegar brown sugar and olive oil into a small pot and bring to the boil. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is reduced and sticky. Pour into the base of a 8 cm tart tin or Texan muffin tins. Put the drained tomatoes on top skin side down.
• Roll out the pastry between two pieces of baking paper to about 2 mm thick. Cut out circles that will fit into the tart tins. Rest these in the fridge for 10 min.
• Put onto a baking tray and bake 30min, or until golden.
• Cool slightly, and turn out onto a tray.
• Serve with goat curd, black pepper and shredded basil