Courgette & pepper tart Tatin

I use to roll a lot. On one of the Polish internet culinary forums I was asked if I want to talk about it. It looked like a serious issue - spinach and salmon roulade, meringue and lemon roulade, tortilla and grilled tune bites, rolled and stuffed chicken breast, cinnamon swirls... Possibly many more but I do not remember everything at the moment.

So when I saw this recipe from a booklet from "La Cucina Italia" I knew I had to make it. Even if I have lost my temper when... rolling the topping I would still recommend it because it is truly delicious and looks great.

I love tart Tatin and realise that the original is made with apples. However I call the up side down tarts Tatin whether they are sweet or savoury.


Serves 4

375g ready rolled puff pasty
5 bell peppers (various colours)
3-4 small courgettes
handful of parmesan
150g mozzarella
tbsp olive oil
salt
black pepper


Preheat the oven to 200 C.

Place the peppers on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast until skin is nearly black. Remove from the oven, place in a plastic bag and leave for about 10 minutes. It will help with removing the skin. When cooled down slightly peel the peppers and cut into about 2cm stripes.

Using a veg peeler cut the courgettes lengthwise. If the slices are too thin use an ordinary knife. These should be not too thin and not too thick - you should be able to roll them. Sprinkle slices with salt and leave for about 20 minutes. Next wash under cold running water and dry on a kitchen roll or towel.

Line tart Tatin dish (or a frying pan that you can place in the hot oven, I used 25cm pan) with a baking paper and sprinkle with parmesan. Roll the peppers into the courgette slices and place tightly into the dish. Tear up the mozzarella into a pieces and place a small piece into a centre of each rolled pepper. Sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper.

Cover with puff pastry and press the edges into a bottom of the dish. Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Place in the 220 C oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Cover with piece of kitchen foil if it becomes too brown during the baking.

Remove from the oven, leave it to rest for few minutes, cover with a bog plate and turn up side down. Cut and serve.