Beetroot Tarte Tatin

A simple recipe, making use of the lovely sweet new beetroot in season.  Some plants are enjoying the rain, and beetroot seems to be especially good this year.  I boiled 5 medium whole beets for about an hour until just tender, then peeled and sliced them into chunky wedges.  Then, I melted 30g of butter (you could use olive oil) with 3 teaspoons of brown sugar in a cast iron pan, and allowed the sugar to caramelise.  Season well with salt and pepper, and pour in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.  it will sizzle a little, so stand back.  Then sprinkle in a teaspoon of fresh thyme.  Now arrange the beetroot over the caramel, cutting to fill gaps.  Cover with a sheet of puff pastry, cut to be just a little larger than your dish, and tuck the excess under and down the inside of the dish.  Bake at 190C (fan oven) or equivalent for 20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked, golden and crisp.  Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes then invert onto a large plate - be careful of the hot sticky juices.  Drizzle over another tablespoon of balsamic over the glossy caramel beets, rearranging them if they have become dislodged, and eat with salad or we had lovely peeled broad beans, the emerald beans contrasting beautifully with the deep maroon of the beetroot.  A great veggie dish, and vegan too if you use olive oil.  An under a fiver job too, though we polished the whole thing off between the two of us.