A tarte tatin is traditionally made with apples as a dessert, but we love making savoury versions too. It’s a great way to showcase a seasonal vegetable and make it the star of your meal. The result looks fancy and tastes amazing, but the secret is it is sooo easy to do. Serve with some fresh salad and a zingy dressing, with some cheese, nuts, seeds or beans scattered on top for a little protein and you’ve got a wonderful, balanced, plant based meal ready to share with friends or family.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6 -8 depending on sides)
- 50g butter (we love our new Naturli vegan butter) – chopped into small pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp thyme leaves (fresh or dried)
- black pepper to taste
- 2 large parsnips sliced into finger sized wedges (enough to tightly cover the base of your dish)
- a sheet of puff pastry (check the ingredients, many are made dairy free now – or make your own)
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C and find a large, round oven proof dish. Or you can use a square/rectangular dish too of course, anything that your sheet of pastry will fit in comfortably.
- Dot half the butter around in the base of your dish. Drizzle over half the olive oil and then evenly sprinkle the sugar, half the salt, half the thyme and a good grind of black pepper.
- Arrange the slices of parsnips over the butter and seasoning. Aim for complete coverage and one tight layer.
- Dot over the remaining butter and drizzle the oil, sprinkle the rest of the salt, thyme and another grind of pepper.
- Place the dish in the oven until the parsnips are soft and starting to caramelise. This should take around 30 minutes but keep an eye on them as ovens vary.
- Remove from the oven then quickly and carefully place the sheet of pastry over the hot parsnips and put the dish back in the oven right away.
- After 15 minutes or so, the pastry should be risen and golden brown. Remove the dish from the oven and place a large, heat proof plate or chopping board over the dish.
- Then use oven gloves to carefully, but very quickly, flip the plate/board and dish over. Still using gloves, pick the now upside down dish up off the plate/board and you should be left with a beautiful parsnip tarte tatin!
- Slice and serve whilst still warm with salads. It’s delicious cold too, so if you have any leftovers, eat for lunch the next day.
