Vegetable tarte tatin

Well, Disney blogging is over (for now!) so I should return to blogging about the random things that go on in my day-to-day adventures!

I recently tried out a recipe for something completely new to me: a vegetable tarte tatin (a kind of French upside-down tart). I think this is usually made with apples and butter, but my version is made with roasted potatoes, sage, onions, garlic, and gouda. First, you roast some potatoes, then make a carmelized sugar mixture with vinegar, with which you coat the bottom of a glass pan. Sprinkle on sage, potatoes, onions, garlic, and gouda. Top with a rolled out piece of puff pastry, coat with an egg wash and bake until delicious! I LOVE this meal -- surprisingly, it tastes like "France" to me! It is savory and sweet, pretty, and fairly easy to make. Yay for trying out new things~

Here is the recipe for the vegetable tarte tatin

Ingredients:
- 3 or 4 red potatoes, cut into ½ inch-thick rounds
- 4 or 5 small purple potatoes, cut into ½ inch-thick rounds
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch-thick rounds
- 1 small onion, cut into ¼ inch-thick rounds
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 small bunch fresh sage or taragon, chopped
- 6 ounces gouda, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 1 8.5-ounce sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the potatoes, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet; bake until tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons water and the sugar in a skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan, until amber, about 7 minutes (Watch carefully. Once the caramel turns amber, it burns very quickly.) Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Quickly pour the caramel into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish and spread with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the sage on top.

Arrange the roasted potatoes and parsnips in a single snug layer on top of the caramel and herbs. Scatter the onion and garlic over the roasted vegetables; sprinkle evenly with the gouda.

Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 9-by-13-inch rectangle. Pierce the pastry all over with a fork, then lay it on top of the gouda, folding the edges under to fit, if necessary. If making ahead of time, cover securely and refrigerate until baking. Before baking, use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the crust.

Bake 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking until the dough is cooked through, 15 to 20 more minutes. If the crust turns golden brown before the baking time is through, cover the baking dish loosely with foil and continue to bake.

Let the tart cool 10 minutes in the baking dish. Then carefully invert it onto a cutting board. Replace any vegetables that stick to the dish, if necessary.

Cut the tart with a pizza roller and eat!