Rhubarb & Sinodun Hill Tarte Tatin

The creamy tang of Sinodun Hill works beautifully with the sharpness of rhubarb in this savoury centrepiece by @hiyaimhan. It would make for a lovely spring lunch alongside some new potatoes and a green salad. 

Ingredients:

Sinodun Hill
3-4 sticks of rhubarb 
Pack of chilled puff pastry
3-4 stems of fresh thyme, leaves picked
Handful of blanched hazelnuts
40g salted butter
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 220c.

Prepare the rhubarb and cheese first, ensuring they’re cut to size to fit inside the pan. This will make assembling and getting it in the oven smoother later on.

In a medium sized pan on a medium heat, pour in the honey and apple cider vinegar (white wine vinegar would work too). Let it bubble away until most of the moisture has evaporated. Do not stir but you can tilt the pan. Add the cubes of butter and cook until you have a golden caramel, stirring frequently. When it coats the back of the spatula with a thick glossy sheen, it’s ready.

Place the pre-prepared rhubarb across the caramel, curve side down in the pan. Then layer it with the slices of Sinodun Hill cheese. Finally, lay the puff pastry over the top and tuck in the edges so that it’s nice and snug. Beware that your frying pan or cast iron pan will be hot! Poke holes in the pastry with a fork. 

Place the pan in the middle of the hot oven and bake for at least 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the pastry but also the liquid bubbling at the sides. Some liquid is ok because it will settle when the tarte tatin is out of the oven and resting. 

Once your pastry is brown (you can take it quite dark if you like but do not let it burn), use an oven mitt to remove the pan. Let it rest for a minimum of 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, turn the oven down to 150c. Roast the hazelnuts for 5-10 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and roughly chop. 

Using an oven mitt to hold the pan in one hand and holding a plate in the other, place the plate upside down on the top of the pan and flip so that the pan is upside down on top of the plate. Give it a little shake. The tarte tatin should dislodge smoothly from the pan onto the plate. Sprinkle over the picked thyme leaves and chopped hazelnuts.

Tips: 

I recommend wider rhubarb batons as during testing, thinner ones led to the cheese seeping through. 

Ensure you have enough rhubarb and cheese to fit the pan you are using before you start! 

If you’re using a small pan, you may want to consider using less caramel as otherwise the pastry will go soggy.

You can sprinkle thyme over the caramel before topping it with the rhubarb or over the tarte tatin at the end. Note that you will get a stronger flavour if you add it to the caramel before it goes into the oven. I preferred using it as a garnish after trying it both ways.