Beetroot tarte tatin is one of our favourite easy go to dishes. The tart apple and horseradish elevate this dish to unique flavour territory. It also looks beautiful! This is perfect for a dinner party, but the easiness and speed of preparation will hopefully make this one of your go to weeknight meals as well.
I first paired beetroot, bramley apple and horseradish with mackerel. The flavours are so bold that it really held up to the fish. The flavours are so good together, I wanted to create a dish that vegetarians and vegans can also love. This is it – something good enough for a dinner party and yet easy enough for midweek dinners.
Pre cooked beetroot
If I have no beetroot coming out of the garden for a particular week, for convenience I sometimes buy the pre cooked beetroot (NOT the beetroot in vinegar). It saves me time and it tastes just as good as if I would cook it myself. If I have some fresh from the garden I clean the soil off and boil it between 45 minutes and 1 hr depending on the size. To test if it is cooked – there will not be much resistance to a sharp knife. Alternatively, you can wrap them in some aluminum foil and pop them in the oven for 1 hour at 180 degrees Celsius. After both of these cooking methods the skins should slip off and the beetroot is ready for the next stage.
What type of apple?
You need a tart apple that will hold up to cooking. In my opinion Bramley apples are the best and they should be available all year round after being harvested in autumn and stored in a cool place. If you struggle to get this British heritage variety – a green granny smith will do.
Horseradish
This spicy flavoured taproot is a member of the mustard family and grows really well in the UK – so well – it can turn into a weed. Leave even a slight bit of root in the ground and it will sprout new leaves and grow more root. The root really grows very deep, allowing the plant to get all those nutrients from deep layers of soil.
If you don’t grow it – fresh horseradish can be hard to source outside of good greengrocers. You can buy preserved horseradish in creamy sauces (some vegan ones are available now too) in most supermarkets. You can definitely use this instead of the fresh stuff but put an extra tablespoon to taste because it contains more than just horseradish and can lose its potency over time.
Horseradish loses its flavour when heated so the vinaigrette must be cold when prepared.
Pastry
I rarely make my own puff pastry. Shop bought all butter puff pastry is the finest, if you can get it, although there are plenty of good vegan puff pastries available at the moment. The one I used in this recipe came from our local London bakery. It is vegan and contains plenty of seeds for additional texture.
Beetroot and apple tarte tatin with horseradish vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 3 pre-cooked beetroot golf ball size
- 1 – 2 apple Bramley or Granny smith
- 300 g puff pastry
- 1 red onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 – 3 tbsp horseradish grated
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar at a pinch
- 1 tbsp olive oil good quality
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Prepare the beetroot and apple. Slice the apple into 16 ths and make sure to decore. Do the same with the beetroot and start arranging the slices in a circular pattern in a 26 – 30 cm round cake tin (or a saucepan with an oven proof handle).
- Once the beetroot and apple are arranged, place a rolled out puff pastry sheet on top. You can cut roughly around the edges but try and leave a little overlap to tuck around the edge of the beetroot and apple. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg/milk/ or a vegan egg wash equivalent (2 tbsp non-dairy milk mixed with 1 tbsp maple syrup).
- Place the dish in the oven for 30 minutes and start the vinaigrette.
- Heat oil in a saucepan on a medium heat and add finely chopped red onion. Cook for 8 minutes until the onions are soft. It is very important that the vinegar and onion mixture is cold prior to mixing the horseradish since heat will destroy the horseradish flavour. Once cold mix together the onions, vinegar, horseradish and olive oil.
- Once the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown take it out of the oven. Flip it upside down so the pastry is on the bottom and dress the beetroot and apple with the horseradish vinaigrette. Serve and enjoy!
