These beautiful tarts not only taste great but look fantastic. They’re a wonderful way to showcase Chantenay carrots in all their glory.
Serves 4
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- 50g golden caster sugar
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 75g unsalted butter
- 1 spring fresh thyme, leaves only
- 6 cardamom pods, seeds removed
- 500g small whole Chantenay carrots
- 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
- 100g crumbled feta cheese
- Small green basil leaves and some black olives, halved, to garnish
Equipment
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- 4 non-stick tart tins, 10cm diameter
1. Preheat your oven to 200C / Gas 6.
2. Sprinkle the sugar in a frying pan and place over a medium heat, heat till the sugar burns a brown colour. Take off the heat and add the vinegars and then the butter, protecting your hand with a cloth, as it will splutter as it hardens. Stir over a low heat until melted and add the thyme leaves and cardamom pods and then remove from the heat.
3. Divide the mixture into the 4 tins, making sure the bases are well covered with the caramel.
4. Place the carrots down in the caramel, packing them in tightly. Cut out four circles of the pastry slightly larger than the tin size. Cover each tin with a pastry round, pushing the edge down around the carrots. Using the handle of a teaspoon helps to do this. Place the tins on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Carefully turn out the tartes tatins.
5. Top with the olives and crumbled feta cheese, finishing with a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar. Serve with a fresh green salad
Tips:
It is always best if you use all butter puff pastry, and if you do not want feta cheese you can use goats’ cheese and melt it under a grill as well. You could also substitute the cardamom with rosemary leaves.