UPSIDE DOWN SHALLOT TARTLETS
Instructions:
- If topped with melted goat cheese and served with a salad, these tarts could be a vegetarian main course, or do well as a first course. The contrast between the melt-in-the-mouth, sugary shallots and the crisp, buttery pastry makes them totally irresistible.
- 1lb (450g) package all-butter puff pastry, thawed
- about 16 even-sized, small shallots
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp (1/2 stick plus 1 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
- sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
- You need four 5in (12.5cm) non-stick individual blini pans, which can be found at specialty kitchenware shops and online. Place them on a baking sheet and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, bat the block of pastry with a rolling pin a few times to make it thinner and easier to roll evenly, then cut into quarters and roll out each piece until 1/8in (3mm) thick. Cut out four disks using a pastry cutter or saucer that is 1in (2.5cm) bigger than the blini pans. Stack the disks on top of each other with waxed paper in between and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, halve the shallots crosswise, then trim them to size. Set aside. Heat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Half fill a roasting pan with cold water and keep by the stove.
- Mix the sugar and 3 tbsp cold water in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to high and cook for 5–10 minutes to an amber-colored caramel. Don’t stir or the sugar will crystallize and go grainy, but occasionally brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water— this will help prevent crystallization.
- Whisk the cold butter into the caramel a little at a time (it will foam up and thicken the caramel), then take the pan off the heat and add a few twists of pepper. Pour an equal quantity of caramel into each blini pan—it will harden immediately.
- Sprinkle a little salt over the caramel, then pack the shallots in the pans with their widest cut sides facing down. The exact number of shallots you need depends on their size and how tightly you pack them in, but you should get about eight halves in each pan.
- Prick each pastry disk all over with a fork. Lay a disk over each pan and tuck well in between the shallots and the edge of the pan. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the pastry is an even golden brown.
- Leave the tarts to settle for a few minutes, then invert a small plate over each pan and turn out the tart onto the plate. Serve hot.