Beetroot Tart tatin

We are tidying up the garden for the winter right now, clearing and digging the beds so that we can manure them in preparation for next year. The beetroot bed was cleared the other day and we have been eating our way through a bucket of assorted beetroots. There were a lot of small beets, red, golden and pink and these I put in a tart tatin. Slow cooking beetroots brings out their sweetness which overlaid with their underlying earthy taste makes delicious eating. It takes a little time to cook the beets but it’s not complicated. I used homemade puff pastry but shop bought would do the trick. If you can find butter puff pastry all the better.

Beetroot Tart Tatin

About 20 small beetroots

2tbs white balsamic vinegar

2tbs white sugar

1 tsp muscovado sugar

50g butter, diced.

250g puff pastry

Pre heat the oven 180c

Wash the beetroots and put into a baking tray.

Cover with foil and bake for about one and a half hours or until tender

Allow to cool, then peel away the skins.

Heat an oven proof pan, about 20-24cms across,.

It needs to be something that you can put in the oven

Add the vinegar and sugars to the pan and cook until lightly caramelised.

Add the diced butter and swirl the pan to emulsify the butter and caramel.

Season the beetroots with a little salt.

Cut the beetroots in half across the middle and put flat side down into the pan. Put as many beetroots as you can, packed tightly in one layer.

Cool completely.

Roll out the pastry into a circle  and tuck over the beetroots.

Chill for thirty minutes then bake for approx 30minutes, until the pastry is golden and the beets are bubbling around the edge.

Leave the tart to relax and cool slightly before turning out otherwise the caramalised juices will just run out.