Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Beetroot Tart Tatin With Parsley Vinaigrette

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Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart in which the fruit (usually apples) are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked. Did you know that first it was created by an accident? The Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France, was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. Stéphanie did most of the cooking. One day she started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. This is how the classic tart tatin was born.

Of course you can make tart tatin from other fruits and vegetables too. Beetroot is a rich source of potent antioxidants and nutrients, including magnesium, sodium, potassium and vitamin C. It has an earthy flavor that goes well with the tangy parsley vinaigrette.

Recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Veg Every Day.

Beetroot Tart Tatin With Parsley Vinaigrette

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the tart tatin
– 250 g rough puff pastry
– 350 g beetroot, cut into 1 cm thick slices
– 20-30 g butter (vegans should use olive oil)
– 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
– 2 teaspoons apple vinegar
– 2 teaspoons cane sugar
– salt, black pepper

For the parsley vinaigrette
– 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
– 1 small onion, chopped
– 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
– 1 tablespoon apple vinegar
– 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
– pinch of cane sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (356F). Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface (5 mm thick). Take and ovenproof frying pan (or tarte tatin dish) about 20-24 cm in diameter, place it upside dow on the pastry and cut around it. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the vinaigrette’s ingredients and stir to combine.

Melt the butter with the sunflower oil in the frying pan, add apple vinegar, cane sugar, salt and pepper. Add the sliced beetroot and toss i the juices. Cover the pan with foil, transfer to the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 170-180C (338-356F) until the beetroot are tender.

Take the pan out from the oven and lay the cut pastry over the beetroot, patting it down and tucking in the edges down the side of the pan. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until the pastry top is golden brown and puffed up. Leave it to cool, then turn it out by putting the plate over the top and inverting it. Trickle the vinaigrette over the tarte tatin and serve.

Moroccan Mushroom with Couscous

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I always smile when I think about our Moroccan trip. It has made our journey very exciting from the very  start: two backpacks, two flight tickets, a Lonely Planet guide book and some money – that was all we took. And – of course – the road plan in our head about what we would like to see.

No accommodation bookings, no pre-paid train tickets, nothing.

We had so many adventures during those 12 days. Climbing the Jebel Toubkal (1,5 km vertical distance in 7 hours and 11 km long hiking trip until the refugee house and 11 km back to the village Imlil, the next day) is an experience that will remain with us forever. This was my very first hiking trip and a very difficult one. I brought home two small pebbles from the Atlas mountains, which are still sitting on my computer desk at home and they constantly remind me that if I endured the climbing and hiking I’m able to accomplish everything in life.

I’ve brought you a Moroccan recipe for today that I found on BBC’s GoodFood Healthy Recipes for the iPhone (a very useful app for a food blogger :)).

Moroccan Mushroom with Couscous

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 300 g button mushroom, quartered
– 400 g (1 can) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
– 400 g (1 can) chopped tomatoes, drained but keep the tomato juice
– 1 red onion, chopped
– 1 teaspoon cumin
– 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon honey
– 180 g couscous
– 50 g soft dried apricots, diced
– small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
– salt, pepper
– olive oil

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and fry the onin for a couple of minutes until softened. Add cinnamon and cumin and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes, half of the juice of the can tomatoes, chickpeas and honey. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pan mix the couscous with the dried apricots, some salt and pepper. Pour over 250 ml boiling water, then cover. Leave to stand for 8-10 minutes or until softened. To serve, fluff up with a fork, stir in the parsley and top with the mushroom mixture. We can pour over the dish with the remaining tomato juice.

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