Make your Valentine a Savory Tarte Tatin

Looking for something special to make for Valentine's Dinner? Try a savory Tarte Tatin!

Traditional Tarte Tatin is a French dessert that is a lot like an upside-down apple pie. There are savory versions of Tarte Tatin. Here is one we used adapted from the Food42 blog. It's easy but takes a little time to assemble so it is great for special occasions.

Ingredients:

Pie Contents

1/2 butternut squash

4 carrots

1 onion

2 beets (we recommend golden beets)

2 apples

1/2 c. goats cheese

2 Tbsp EVO

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbs Local Honey

1/2 tsp salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 lemon

Pastry (aka paté brisé)

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced small 1 large farm-fresh egg, beaten

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1) Make the pastry by combining the flour, salt and butter over the flour and cut in with a pastry knife (or a potato masher!) until the butter is well incorporated. Add the beaten egg and mix with a fork until the mixture starts to come together. Use your hands to quickly form the mixture into a 4" disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes. If the pastry won't hold together, add water a tsp at a time until it does.

2) As pastry chills, peel veggies and apples. Cut in pieces that are no thicker than 1/2". We recommend slicing carrots the long way for best visual effect latter. Toss with EVO and salt and put on a couple of cookie sheets to roast in oven until tender (about 30 minutes). Quick tips: 1) Use parchment paper on cookie sheets for fast easy clean up. 2) Roast veggies in separate piles on sheets. This will make the final pie assembly easier.

3) On a well floured piece of parchment paper, laid out flat, roll out the pastry to about 12" diameter.

4) Once the veggies are cooked, remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

5) In an oven proof skillet, melt butter and add honey, juice and zest from the lemon and 2-3 sprigs of thyme. Remove from heat.

Assemble tarte by layering veggies on top of butter mixture. We recommend starting with the carrots arranged so the sticks are point inward, creating a sun burst effect. Then create individual layers with each kind of veggie.

6) When finished with the layers, slide the pastry disk over the skillet so it is covered, then put the skillet in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the tarte from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes until you invert it onto a plate. Garnish with lots of goats cheese and the rest of the thyme sprigs! Voilà!