Tomato Tarte Tatin

Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini

from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

Makes 8 appetizer or 4 main course servings

Ingredients:

1 sheet store-bought Puff Pastry Dough - Thawed

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 2 pounds firm tomatoes

• Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

• Mediterranean Herbs (I used Sarah's Mediterranean Sea Salt)

• 1/4 cup black olive tapenade, store-bought or homemade

• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (or you may use goat cheese)

• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 10-inch ceramic quiche pan or pie plate with 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and core. Remove the juice and seeds. Arrange in the pan, skin side down, in a circular pattern. You can crowd them as they will shrink as they bake. Season with salt, pepper, herbs, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until softened. Remove from the oven (leave the heat on).

4. Remove the thawed dough from the fridge and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle and prick with a fork. Spread with olive tapenade, leaving a 1-inch margin all around.

5. Cut the mozzarella in 1⁄3-inch slices and arrange over the cooked tomatoes the pan. Lay the dough, tapenade side down, on the cheese, and tuck in the overhanging flaps of dough. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden.

6. Let cool for a few minutes on a rack. Loosen the crust with a knife, cover the pan with an overturned serving plate, and, using oven mitts, flip the pan over carefully. Replace any tomatoes that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan where they belong.

Garnish with fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade.