Tarte Tatin is a beloved French dessert that features caramelized apples covered with puff pastry and served upside down. What if instead, we made individual savory tarts? The same delicate flaky crust filled with delicate thin slices of caramelized beetroot and sweet potatoes or butternut squash? Not only is it beautiful but you can make it in less than 30 minutes (as long as the beets are cooked). And it will look like you spent hours in the kitchen! My definition of a perfect fall or winter dish!
Truth be told, I love everything made with puff pastry! That’s part of my French heritage! I could have it almost every day!ย Once you know what the right temperature is to roll and shape, it is so easy to make and always produces an elegant dish. What’s not to like? I like to make individual squares that are easy to serve as appetizers or entrees.
Cooking the beetroot
As long as you cook the beets ahead of time, you can have the tart ready to serve in less than 30 minutes. From a nutritional standpoint, it is better to roast your beets than to boil them (unless you are planning to drink the cooking liquid afterwards because a lot of the nutrients end up in in it). I prefer roasting them at 375F for 35 minutes. This should yield just the right texture, not too hard and not too soft. You want to tenderize the beets but they must still be firm because you will bake them for another 15 minutes. Roasting root vegetables also brings out their natural sweetness.
Cheese
To offset the natural sweetness of the beets and sweet potatoes, you need something salty like cheese but not all cheese will work here. You need ideally something that will crumble like feta or blue cheese. You are not looking for gooey! Luckily for us, we now have amazing plant-based options to choose from.
For feta, Violife is my favorite brand. It has the perfect texture (on the dry side), with all the notes you expect for feta, like saltiness, and light sourness. It is amazing! For the blue cheese, we have discovered that the brand ‘Follow your Heart” has one and it is incredible.
No one will ever know that it is plant-based. Seriously! It is made with coconut oil and potato starch! Soy, and nut-free! It comes all crumbled so all you have to do, is sprinkle! Life is sweet!
How to handle puff pastry
Found in the frozen section near pies and other desserts, puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm) comes in the form of two sheets in a box. This recipe only requires a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure you thaw the puff pastry a few hours before you need it. It should be pliable but not too soft. If the dough is a little too cold it can break so just leave it on the counter for 5-10 minutes. If it is too soft to easily open the flaps, and the layers are a little sticky, just put it in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.
One sheet of puff pastry will make 9 smaller square tarts. Use a roller to gently flatten and expand the pastry. Cut vertically at the folding seam then cut three pieces in each panel. Once you have the squares, you are ready to start building the stacks.
Assembling the tarts
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The first layer resembles caramel doodles on a white page! It is kind of cool. Use cream of balsamic vinegar to make a swirl where you will place the pastry. If you are new to this product, you are in for a treat. You can find it in most grocery stores usually on the shelf above regular balsamic vinegar. To make it, you just need to simmer a lot of balsamic vinegar until you obtain a thick smooth glaze. And you only need a little.
Next, slice the peeled beetroot, and sweet potato. Mix the seasoning: salt, pepper, dried oregano and thymes. Pickle the onions.
Add some pickled onions, a little arugula or micro greens, some cheese.
Now top with a few thin slices of beet, sweet potato or butternut squash. Drizzle a little olive oil and season.
Place a square over the mount making sure that everything fits under. Push down a little on top and on the edges. You can use a fork to make the edges.
Brush with a little milk and bake for 14-15 minutes until the top is golden. That’s give you enough time to make a salad.
Et voila ! Top with a little more cheese if you want. It almost looks like a peach tart but it doesn’t taste like one. It is so colorful!
Beetroot Sweet Potato Tartlets
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- silicone brush
Ingredients
- 1 box of Puff pastry Pepperidge Farm
- 3 tbsp non-dairy milk
- 3-4 small beets
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 pickled small onion or shallot
- 1 cup arugula or micro greens
- 1/4 cup vegan feta Violife
- 1/4 cup vegan blue cheese
- fried oregano, thyme
- Salt, pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Place the package of puff pastry in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Cover a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
- Peel the beets and cut them in half. Add a medium sweet potato to the sheet. Bake for 35 minutes until lightly tender but still firm.
- Prepare the remaining ingredients: vegan cheese, arugula or micro greens, pickled onions, dried spices.
- Open the box of puff pastry and remove one of the sheet. You should be able to open both flap easily and remove the pieces of paper. It it is too soft, refrigerate for 5 minutes.
- Using a rolling pin, lightly flatten the sheet preserving its square form.
- Cut along the two folds and cut three equal square from each panel. You should end up with 9 squares.
Assemble the tartlets
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Place a small drizzle of balsamic glaze for each square.
- Top with some pickled onions, arugula or micro greens, some feta and or blue cheese.
- Add a few slices of beet and sweet potatoes. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and thymes.
- Place a square over each mount making sure that the edges cover everything and tuck it around it. You can use a fork and gently push down on the edges.
- Brush a little milk over each tartlets.
- Bake for 14 minutes until the top is golden. Let them cool down for a few minutes before serving and flipping them over.
- Serve warm as an appetizer or with a salad.
cery stores usually right above the regular balsamic vinegar. This thick vinegar is obtained by cooking down the vinegar until you get a smooth aged creamy sweet nectar. Amazing!
Next, have everything ready to assemble the layers. Slice the beets, sweet potatoes, or butternut. Pickle some red onions or shallots. Cube some vegan feta cheese or blue cheese.
Now you can stack some of the crumbled feta or blue cheese, some arugula or micro greens.
Top with thin slices of beet, and sweet potato. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover each little pile with a square of puff pastry making sure that it is fully covered. Use a fork to gently press down the edges. Dip a silicone brush in a little plant-based milk and brush all the tarts.
Bake at 400F for 14 minutes until the top is golden. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving.
Just flip over and it is ready!
1 small onion pickled (red or yellow)
balsamic vinegar glaze
Arrugula or micro greens
olive oil
3-4 small beetroots sliced
1 sweet potato
Vegan feta cheese and/or blue cheese
Salt & pepper
1 tbsp dried herbs like thyme, oregano, rosemary
Remove beetroot tops. Using rubber gloves peel and cut in half.
Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, until just tender but still firm.
