Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin

I've made a bunch of variations of this - basil and garlic instead of onions and olives, pie crust instead of puff pastry, individual versions for a dinner party, etc. all excellent. I mostly use roma tomatoes, since they aren't as wet.If you think it's going to be really too wet, sprinkle a handful of instant/quick couscous over the top before you put the pastry on top. They'll soak up some of the water and you'll never notice them otherwise.

This is a delicious recipe, which I've made several times, perfect for a block party or end of summer gathering. I salt the tomatoes lightly, then drain them on a paper towel for an hour before adding them.

Made this last two nights. Used only 1 large red onion (2+ cups/9 oz) thinly sliced. Roasted cherry tomatoes in toaster oven 5 min at 400 degrees until first popped. Then pierced remainder of tomatoes to let moisture out. Used only 2 T sugar and 1T balsamic vinegar. Used my 80 year old 10" cast iron pan. Pie crust is fine but puff-pastry is glorious. Easy flip and magnificent presentation. Is now a home staple. Ciao

Absolutely delicious. As written, the recipe can err on the side of sweetness. The sweetness can be dialed back by reducing or omitting the caramel; doubling the sherry vinegar; brushing the pastry with Dijon mustard (the side that faces the tomatoes, obviously); or by serving the tart with suitably contrasting flavors.

Last night I paired the tart with boucheron (a tangy, crumbly goat cheese) and an arugula salad with a mustardy vinaigrette.

Patricia Welles also has a somewhat similar recipe in "The French Kitchen Cookbook" for individual tomato tart tatins. She roasts her tomatoes first which concentrates the flavor and also reduces their moisture. I did this with very small, but not cherry tomatoes and had no moisture issues.
I used a combination of red and yellow onions and leeks which is what I had on hand and the results were excellent.

Delicious! I am glad I read the helpful notes. I roasted the tomatoes for 30 min ahead of baking and reduced the juices from the tomatoes. I reduced the sugar to the caramel by half, added a sprinkle of couscous before adding the pastry to the top and added dijon mustard to the pastry (underside that cooked with the tomatoes, onions and olives). I drained it before flipping. My friends could not get enough of it. It turned out perfect.

Spread mustard on pastry first - delicious

Many complaints about this being too wet. It is pretty sloppy at the bottom of that pan before you flip it. The best thing I've found is to drain with a pan lid or plate pressed to the pastry and tip the fluid out of the pan. But don't throw that liquid out. After the tarte is flipped and on a presentation plate reduce the liquid drained from it and serve as a glaze on top of the tarte.

Magnificent. A keeper. Tastes as good as it looks. Yes to pre-roasting the tomatoes and mustard on the puff pastry.

I loved this and found it very easy once I had followed some of the modifications others suggested: namely, roasting the tomatoes beforehand to let out some of the juice and adding dollops of creamy goat cheese. I served it covered in fresh chopped basil. This is a very good recipe for entertaining. I served it as the veg with sliced steaks and chimichurri sauce.

A picture perfect, well received Tomato Tart. The suggestion to add some couscous as a thickener was brilliant and worked really well. I knew it was there, but everyone was surprised when I asked them. My engineer husband, taught me to tilt the pie plate by putting a wooden spoon under one edge it to allow any juices to drain away from the bottom crust. That also works like a charm and did not disturb the tomatoes. I did reduce the sugar to 2T and uses 1/2T red wine vinegar-it was right for us

I used green stuffed olives instead of Kalamata, and fresh basil instead of thyme. I skipped the caramel step entirely. I just added the vinegar directly to the onions while cooking them, and didn't need any water. Delicious!

I roasted tomatoes and onions one day ahead and set everything up the night before, no sugar, just balsamic syrup.
Added olives and baked with pastry crust, not drippy at all, tasted fantastic.

If this ended up "too sweet" for you the caramel must have been made with too much sugar or too little vinegar. . There's nothing else sweet in it. If it's "too wet" at the flip point ( it will leach a lot of water from the tomatoes ) use a pan lid slightly smaller than the pan you cooked it in to press the pastry top then give it a slight tip and drain it. I propped mine up and drained it for about 15 minutes and it flipped nicely with little fluid remaining.

Far too sweet for my taste. And, as others have pointed out, it's very watery. I also think it could be improved with the addition of a soft cheese between the onions and pastry, or maybe even a few beaten eggs poured on. I doubt I'll make this one again.