Prune, Thyme and Shallot Tarte Tatin

The festive season is the perfect opportunity to indulge in this delicious vegetarian dish! Packed with flavour, texture, and nutrients – this versatile recipe is ideal either as a starter or a main.

Makes: 4Prep Time: 35-40 minutesCook Time: 15 minutes
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INGREDIENTS

  •  
  • 20ml olive oil
  • 16 whole shallots, peeled and trimmed
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tbsp thyme leaves
  • 25 ml balsamic vinegar
  • 15 California Prunes
  • 1 roll of ready-made puff pastry
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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375F/gas mark 5.
2. Add the oil, butter and shallots to a heavy-based saucepan over a moderate heat.
3. Fry until the shallots begin to caramelise, turning golden brown in patches (about 6–8 minutes should do the trick).
4. Add the sugar and vinegar to the pan.
5. Continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often, lest the sugar catches
and burns.
6. Add the thyme leaves to the pan, then cook for another 5–8 minutes until the shallots have a rich, deep caramel colour.
7. Add the vinegar.
8. Continue to cook the shallots over a low heat for about 20 minutes, until totally soft.
9. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool completely.
10. Add the California Prunes to the shallot mix.
11. Lay the puff pastry over the contents of the pan, cutting off any excess, but leaving enough trim to tuck snugly around the shallot mixture and the inside of the rim of the frying pan.
12. Bake in a hot oven until the pastry is crisp and golden (about 12–15 minutes).
13. With a knife, loosen any edges of the pastry from the pan while it is still hot.
14. Quickly and carefully turn the tart upside down on to a plate.
15. Serve still warm from the oven

AUTHOR

Peter Sidwell

Peter Sidwell

California Prune Board Ambassador Peter Sidwell, is a chef, baker, TV presenter, author, and innovator of all things food related. Peter has been a chef all his working life and over the years has developed a simple, fresh and innovative way of cooking which focuses on the importance of fine ingredients and technical know-how to ensure the best results. Peter has travelled the world cooking, talking and demonstrating his approach and explaining how and why it works so well for all manner of food offerings. Peter works both with chefs, consumers, food producers and retailers to innovate, create process or refine procurement. Working from his new innovation centre in England's beautiful Lake District, Peter and his team create exciting, attractive and mouth-watering new recipes with digital content, showcasing the delicious flavour and versatility of California Prunes.