Last week was pastry week at the Great British Bake Off and one of the challenges was to make a savoury tarte tatin. I love tarte tatin, but I prefer the sweet version with plums or apples. It was a funny coincidence, but the day before GBBO was aired, I’ve ordered a plum Tarte Tatin in a restaurant.
Thus, it was obvious I’m going to make a Mushrooms and Onions Tarte Tatin as part of my bake along.

For my mushrooms and onions Tarte Tatin I’ve used ready made puff pastry. I just don’t have the time to make puff pastry from scratch, with work, University studies, and commuting. Also, I don’t see a point of making puff pastry from scratch when it involves so much work and the shop-bought one is great. The only thing I’m careful about is to buy from a brand that I know uses sustainable palm oil. As far as I know, all the puff pastry on the market is made with palm oil, and this is why picking the brand is important. Companies like Tesco use sustainable palm oil in their own-brand products for years, and, more recently ASDA and ALDI, starting this year. Just make sure you get their own brand, as other big brands don’t use sustainable palm oil.

Ingredients for a medium size Mushrooms and Onions Tarte Tatin:

– 1 ready rolled puff pastry
– 3 medium onions
– 400g mushrooms
– 1 tsp margarine
– 2 tsp demerara sugar
– 1 tsp garlic paste
– salt
– pepper
– cardamom
– 2 spoons of oil

Start by washing, peeling, and chopping the onions. Wash and chop the mushrooms. In a frying pan, heat a spoon of oil and cook the mushrooms on high heat. When they are ready, put them in a bowl and leave it on the side. In the same pan, pour the second spoon of oil and toss in the onions slices. Leave them to cook, stirring from time to time. When the onions are cooked, add the garlic paste and cook it for a minute. Take the pan off the heat.

Heat the oven at 200C or 180C for fan ovens.

While the oven is getting hot, add the mushrooms to the onions and stir. Add the spices, according to your taste, and stir. Heat a clean frying pan and add the margarine, over low to medium heat. Wait for it to melt and then sprinkle the sugar on top. Wait for the sugar to start caramelizing and take it off the heat. Place the mushrooms and onions on top with care. Cut a round sheet of puff pastry and put it on top of the vegetables. Make four cuts in it, so the steam can get out and the pastry will not get soggy.

Put the pan in the oven and leave it to bake for 25 minutes to bake. When the pastry is golden, take it out of the oven and leave it for a minute to cool. Flip the pan on a serving plate and the mushroom and onions tarte tatin is ready to be served.

It is a delicious dish and I will make it again. You can use the leftover puff pastry to make a dessert, by putting a bit of jam or chocolate spread in the middle, brush the sides with a bit of water and bake it. Otherwise, just brush the pastry with a bit of water and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.