Endive Tarte Tatin

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 6 medium Belgian endives, outer leaves discarded and halved lengthwise
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Zest from 1 lime
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (about 1/2 pound) thawed overnight in refrigerator
• All-purpose flour, for work surface

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from online.wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and honey in a lidded skillet over low-medium heat. Add endives, cut-side down, and cook, turning, until colored on all sides, 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet with lid and cook endives until very tender, 20 minutes.

Remove lid and continue cooking, allowing water to evaporate and endives to brown a little more, 5 minutes. Endives should be very tender and nicely browned but not burned.

Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan, ovenproof skillet or tarte Tatin dish, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Transfer cooked endives, cut-side up, along with pan juices to buttered pan and lightly season with salt and pepper. Tightly pack endives into pan. Sprinkle lime zest over top, reserving some for garnish.

Remove thawed pastry dough from refrigerator and let sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Carefully unfold dough, then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out dough out so it is about ⅛-inch thick and about 2 inches larger than pan. Gently brush off any excess flour from dough then lay dough over endives in pan. Press dough down around endives at edge of skillet to form a seal. Trim any overhang. Use a fork to prick dough all over.

Place tart in upper third of oven and bake 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until golden and crisp, 15-20 minutes.

Removed cooked tart and immediately set a plate upside-down on top. Carefully invert tart onto plate. Knock on bottom of pan with a wood spoon or the handle of a large knife to release endives from pan. Let cool slightly, then garnish with remaining lime zest and serve warm.