Crisp puff pastry with sweet carrots and tangy cheese, a stylish vegetarian starter or main.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
You’ll need:
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 2 tbsp of cider vinegar
- 1tbsp 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
- black olives, halved
- 100g feta cheese, crumbled
- Small green basil leaves to garnish
4 non-stick tart tins, 10cm diameter
What to do:
Preheat your oven to 200c.
Sprinkle the sugar in a frying pan and place over a medium heat, heat till the sugar turns a brown colour. Take off the heat and add the vinegars and then the butter. Protect your hand with a cloth whilst doing this as it will splutter as it hardens.
Stir over a low heat until melted then add the thyme leaves and cardamom pods and remove from the heat.
Divide the mixture into the 4 tins making sure the bases are well covered with the caramel.
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 tart tatins.
Top with the olives and crumbled Feta cheese, finishing with a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar.
Serve with a fresh green salad
Tips: If you don’t like Feta cheese you can use Goats cheese and melt it under a grill as well. You could also substitute the cardamom with rosemary leaves.