Michelle Darmody: How to bake a savoury tart, the perfect autumnal treat

This tart is best eaten the day it is made

At this time of year as the evening light closes in and the summer bounty of vegetables is being harvested it is a perfect time for a warming salty, but slightly sweet vegetable tart.

Tarte tatin is an old French dessert usually made with apple. The traditional apple is delicious but the method of caramelising your ingredients and placing the pastry on top, before doing a quick but careful flip, can be adapted.

I often use it as a starting point for savoury tarts as well as sweet ones. The recipe here uses beautifully small carrots which are lightly roasted then tossed in honey before being laid into the tin or skillet pan and covered in puff pastry.

This wonderfully adaptable method also has the advantage of not having to be too neat and perfect.

Last week we used mixed spice in buns but it is also a warming mix for savoury cooking that adds a lovely autumnal richness. I often add it when making a tomato sauce for cannellini beans which are served on toast.

Its pre-blended selection of spices are softer in flavour than, say, a teaspoon of cinnamon on its own.

Baker's tips

You can use a skillet or cast iron pan instead of a cake tin. These types of pans work very well as you can also roast the carrots in the same pan.

When sautéing the onion you want it to end up really soft, using a low heat and keeping the lid on, taking it off to stir every now and then will allow the onion to soften slowly and keep the juice inside for a sweeter result.

If you find your pastry is getting soggy it can help if you pierce it five or six times after fitting it over the vegetables and before baking. This lets the steam out allowing it to crisp up a little more.

Try not to bunch up the pastry too much around the edges. By cutting your disc to about 11 inches just a bit larger than the tin, you should have a good sized crust. It is best to have the pastry at about 5mm in thickness.

As well as turning golden you will see the puff pastry puff up when it is done.

To ensure a good flip you can loosen the tart in the tin by sliding a palette knife around the edge. If there is some sticky caramel-like juice it is best to do this quite quickly after it comes out of the oven. If you leave it set it will be more difficult and come off in clumps. Loosening the sticky caramel before flipping can be as important for a savoury tart with its honey and butter as it is for the apple version.

Letting the tart cool for about 15 minutes, until it is cool enough to handle the tin, is not just for safety, it allows the ingredients to settle after the bake.

If the tart does not turn out as neatly as you wished after it is flipped you can use a spoon or spatula to scrape out the vegetables and onions and arrange them on top of pastry.

This tart is best eaten the day it is made but if you do want to make it ahead of time it is best to bake it a day or two ahead and keep in its tin in the fridge, then reheat in a hot oven for about 20 minutes before serving. Turn out to serve as above.

Savoury Tart

It is a perfect time for a warming salty, but slightly sweet vegetable tart

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 40 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• Dash olive oil

• 6 small red onions, sliced thinly

• 300g puff pastry

• 6 small carrots, sliced thickly lengthwise

• ½ tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp mixed spice

• Large sprig thyme, leaves removed from the stalk

• ½ tbsp soft butter

• 1 tbsp honey

• 120g ricotta cheese

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

2. While your oven is warming up, heat the oil in a large pan and begin to sauté the onion. Once the onion slices are softening you can keep gently frying them over a low heat with the lid on.

3. Roll your pastry into a disc about an inch wider than your tin.

4. Toss the sliced carrots in the paprika, mixed spice, thyme, seasoning and a little more oil.

5. Place them in an ovenproof dish and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until they are becoming soft.

6. Remove from the oven, toss them in the honey and then allow to cool until cool enough to handle.

7. Brush the base of a 10 inch round tart tin with some butter.

8. Lay the carrot slices onto the base of the tin over the butter.

9. Season the sautéed onions and spoon them over the carrots.

10. Lay the sheet of pastry over the onions and tuck it in all around the edges.

11. Bake in the centre of your oven for about 35 minutes until golden on top.

12. Once cool enough to handle, place a large plate over the tin and gently flip the tart over so that it gently lands inverted onto the plate.

13. Dot the ricotta on top and sprinkle with some sprigs of thyme if you like.

3 delicious variations

Beetroot upside-down tart

Use about 400g of beetroot instead of the carrot. You can also change the flavouring for the beetroot and omit the smoked paprika and use the zest of two oranges instead and a ½ tsp of mild chilli powder along with the mixed spice and thyme.

Red onion and blue cheese

Double the amount of red onion in the master recipe and soften it in the same way. Add a tablespoon of honey to the onion as well as seasoning it well halfway through sautéing. Dot about 100g of blue cheese on top of the warm tart before serving. This adds a bit of bite to the sweet onion mixture.

Sage, root veg and goats cheese

You can use any root vegetables for this tart; I think a mixture of carrot, parsnip, and beetroot works very well with the goats cheese. Goats cheese is generally sharper in taste than ricotta. Follow the recipe above but use 400g of mixed root vegetables and 120g of goats cheese in place of the carrots and ricotta. Replace the mixed spice, chilli and thyme with salt, pepper and a handful of chopped sage.