Bi-Color Tomato and Olive Tartin

I was recently away for a week or so. In my absence the other gourmaniac found perfect red and yellow grape tomatoes, or so she informed me via text message. I replied that I hoped they would last until I could get home so I could make a bi-color tomato and olive tartin, something I usually make in the late summer because of the local tomato availability. In fact the tomatoes were in perfect condition when I returned home, and because there were so many, I made two tartins. Here’s what I did.

Ingredients:

1 pt red grape tomatoes
1 pt yellow grape tomatoes
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 cup caramelized onions (see note below)*
1 pastry dough (follow this link for 2gourmaniacs pastry dough)
¼ cup sugar
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp rice vinegar

*Note on the caramelized onions: although you could slice up a couple of onions and slowly sauté them, I’ve found it is far better to caramelize a large quantity of sweet onions, use what you need and freeze the rest. In fact, at 2GM we usually have three or four vacuum bags of frozen Vidalia onions on hand at all times.

To make caramelized onions:

Peel and cut into thin slices at least 10 pounds of sweet onions, preferable springtime Vidalia. Melt 8 oz of unsalted butter in a large earthenware Dutch oven or casserole and add the onions. Over medium heat, stir to coat the onions with the melted butter. Place two wooden spoons across the casserole or Dutch oven and place a lid on top of them; that way you’re increasing the temp inside and venting out the water. You want to slowly cook the onions and evaporate the water that they release.

Make sure you stir the onions every ten minutes or so. Once they’ve released their water the onions will look like they’re an onion stew. Reduce the heat to simmer,  remove the lid, move the casserole or Dutch oven to the side of the burner, and continue to slowly cook for about three and-a-half hours. Continue to occasionally stir them to prevent sticking. During the last half hour or so,  increase the heat slightly and stir continuously. They will take on a brownish caramelized color and there will be no more water to cook off. And you’ll be amazed how ten pounds of onions shrank down to a several cups.

Method to make the tartin:

The first thing to do is make the pastry dough: follow this link to find out how. It’s best made the day before you plan to make the tartin. And while you’re at it, make the caramelized onions too. (see above)

Preheat oven to 425:

In a small non-stick sauté pan, over high heat, add the sugar and the water and bring to the large bubble stage (around 248 degrees). Let it cook just a little longer until the first hints of amber appear. Stir in the 1 Tbsp of vinegar. Then add the caramelized onions, stir and remove from the heat.

Take a large non-stick sauté pan, spray it with oil, add the yellow and red tomatoes and spread them out evenly. Add the onions on top and distribute uniformly with a spatula.

Roll out the pastry dough so that it is slightly greater in diameter than the sauté pan. Roll it up on the pin and lay if over the tomatoes, olives, and onions. Trim the dough around the edge of the pan, and then tuck the edges inside the pan under the tomatoes etc. That will form the crusty edge. Make several small slits in the dough to vent the steam.

Slide the pan into the preheated oven, and bake for 30 minutes or until the dough is slightly golden.

Transfer the the sauté pan with the cooked tartin to a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then run a knife or metal spatula around the edge of the tartin in the pan. Place a serving plate over the top of the pan and invert. The tartin will drop onto the plate. Allow to cool a bit, and serve immediately.

RMA

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