Apple Tarte Tatin

The Daring Bakers Challenge once again encouraged me to try my hand at something I've never done before. A Tarte Tatin!

The challenge for March 2015 is a tart developed by the Tatin sisters in France. What one does traditionally, is combine sugar and butter in a skillet until it caramelizes and then cook apple quarters in the caramel. Once that's all bubbly and delicious it is topped it with a round of puff pastry and baked until the pastry is brown. After, the creation is flipped over onto a plate and served.

Yeah, it's scary to flip a 350 degree cast iron skillet filled with molten sugar and apple goo. But it can be done and I did it. Actually mine was particularly gooey with too much liquid from the apples. So I tried it again savory style with beets, onions, thyme, goat cheese and Arugula.

Beet Tarte Tatin

Beet Tarte Tatin is terrifically pretty.

Rough Puff Pastry
5 small beets
1 onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
0.5 teaspoon salt
pinch white pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
juice of 1/2 of a lemon

2 ounces goat cheese
1 fist full arugula

Clean beets, wrap it foil, bake with the seam side up for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Allow to cool in foil. Peel and cut into fat disks.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a 9 inch cast iron skillet saute onions and shallot in oil. When brown add sugar.  Stir often scrapping the bottom of the skillet. Add salt, pepper, thyme. Add beets and toss best you can. arrange tightly in the bottom of the skillet, pulling some of the onions on top. Cut beets into pieces to fit between circles. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Roll the puff pastry and cut into a 10 inch circle. Lay the pastry over the top of the beets, using the back side of a paring knife handle or other utensil tuck the puff into the pan, between the beets and the sides of the pan. Make slits in the pastry to vent steam. Bake for 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven. Let stand 5 minutes, flip onto a plate which is larger than the skillet. Dot with cheese and top with arugula. Cut and serve.

I'm excited for the upcoming Daring Baker's challenges. This has been super fun.

Beets with Goat Cheese and Arugula is a classic and delicious.