Brilliant recipe for a leek tarte tatin

How to make leek tarte tatin

• Cut 1 centimetre off the bottom of the leeks. If you have tough specimens, remove some of the darkest green as well. Cut ⅓ of the leek into 1.5-centimetre rings, using the white and light-green part so you don’t bring along any sand. Set these rings aside. Halve the rest of the leek, including the dark green. Wash under cold running water and cut into thin half-rings.
• Melt 35 g of the butter in the ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. Add the leek half-rings and fry, tossing regularly, for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.
• Meanwhile, grate the cheese using a coarse grater. Roll out the puff pastry and cut out a circle that is just slightly larger than the diameter of the pan. Keep the trimmings. Brush one side of the pastry circle with the mustard.
• Preheat the oven to 180 ºC. Remove the leeks from the pan and turn the heat to low. Spread the sugar with 4 tablespoons of water over the bottom of the pan and heat without stirring until an amber-coloured caramel forms. Add the fried leeks and mix with the salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the pan and set aside.

• Put the remaining butter in the pan and melt until it just starts to colour. Turn off the heat and arrange the reserved leek rings over the bottom of the pan. I like things loose, but in this case arrange them as symmetrically as possible: you will really see that in the final result. Distribute the mustard seeds over the gaps between the leeks and sprinkle everything with some sea salt flakes. Carefully and evenly distribute the fried leeks over the top. Also distribute the cheese over the leeks and sprinkle with the sumac.
• Place the puff pastry mustard-side down over the filling and tuck the overhanging edge in towards the bottom of the pan. Use the pastry trimmings to loosely fill the edges created by tucking them in. Prick about 20 holes in the pastry with a fork. Bake the tarte tatin in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
• Place a suitable plate on top of the tarte tatin, quickly turn it over and remove the pan. Do this almost immediately: if the tarte tatin cools upside down, there is a chance it will not come away from the bottom properly. Leave to cool for a few minutes and serve.

Tip: I love serving it with a super-fresh and light salad. It is also delicious slightly cooled and ideal for parties.