Peach Tarte Tatin

I found another little market nearby in Cancelada which takes place every Friday morning. The best part though isn't how close to home it is but how good the quality of the fruits and vegetables are. It caters to local residents so the prices are very reasonable.

I bought half a dozen ripe yellow peaches. I planned to eat them plain but remembered this recipe that I used to do often in Santiago when the white peaches were in season. It's from Tamasin Day Lewis' The Art of the Tart. Tarte Tatin is traditionally made with apples but this version makes use of the summer's sweet peaches and is as good as the original.


Peach, Vanilla, and Amaretti Tarte Tatin
from The Art of the Tart by Tamasin Day-Lewis

• For the dough:


• 8 amaretti


• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces


• 2-3 Tbsp. ice water


• For the top:


• 8 ripe peaches (white are the absolute best, but yellow-fleshed are fine)


• juice of 1 lemon


• 1 vanilla bean


• 6 Tbsp. sugar


• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter


• To make the dough, crush the amaretti in the food processor, add the sifted flour and butter and process briefly to combine, then add 2-3 Tbsp. ice water and process until the mixture comes together. Wrap in wax paper and chill for at least 20 minutes.


• Preheat the oven to 190C. Roll out the dough 1/2 inch wider than the circumference of the pan - I use a heavy, 10-inch diameter Cousances enameled cast-iron skillet with a metal handle that I can put in the oven - and set the shell to one side.


• Scald the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds. Peel, and sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.


• Split the vanilla bean and scrape it out into the sugar. Warm the sugar in the skillet until it is a deep, dark brown, and totally liquid. Do not stir, but move the pan around to prevent burning. Remove from the heat and dot with half of the butter. Put half a peach in the middle of the sugar mixture, cut side up. Quarter the rest, and, starting at the outside of the pan, lay them next to one another in a tightly packed wheel. Arrange the remaining quarters in an inside wheel. Dot the rest of the butter and put the pan back over the heat for 2-3 minutes to gently start the cooking.


• Remove from the heat and cover with a mantle of pastry that you tuck inside the pan edge, and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate. Delicious with creme fraiche.

(Tip: Vanilla beans are expensive so to use one per recipe is costly. What I do is take a vanilla bean, split it lengthwise and leave it buried in my white caster sugar. When a recipe calls for vanilla-flavoring, my sugar already has it.)