There is a British chef I adore, Adam Byatt, who delivers culinary gold on Instagram, of all places. He isn't an Instagram 'chef.' He is a chef who happens to have a strong media production crew around him probably because he runs Michelin starred restaurants, authored a cookbook focused on one of them, and has things to sell. Where else to go when you need to sell more than what's for dinner? Instagram.
We, however, win in this arrangement because his recipes are fire. They rarely require specialized ingredients. Byatt relies heavily on time, patience, and technique. It's a triad that I love in the kitchen, and hand transcribed versions of recipes have earned a place in my very slow-moving physical recipe binder.
When he published a tart tatin recipe recently, the iconic french fruit 'pie' bathed in caramel, I was interested to see what he brought to the table. It's a simple dessert with a short list of ingredients that relies heavily on technique. I was sure he would ace it.
The first surprise was that he partially dehydrates his apples in the oven prior to assembling. This concentrates the flavor, reduces the water released into the dish, and contributes to a better caramel. Genius.
The next surprise was that he starts cooking the tart tatin on the stove, not in the oven. Blasphemy for many working with puff pastry, which everyone knows needs to be as cold as it can be for maxium puff.
But his goal isn't to get the most puff out of the pastry, but a delicate yet strong base for the tart tatin when it is turned out.
You can watch Adam Byatt make his Tart Tatin on youtube, but first go out and get great local apples and a sheet of puff (frozen or made yourself). All you need beyond those two ingredients is sugar, butter, a cinnamon stick, and time. He also uses a vanilla pod and star anise, which elevate the dish further but are very much not necessary for a great breakfast tomorrow morning.
And to answer the question of why the header image is so strangely cropped: I started eating before I remembered to take a picture. Sorry, not sorry.
