Paris Cookin' Tarte Tatin

How Delacroix would sketch La Ratte potatoes or any food for that matter remains to be seen. Back to la Louvre à toute suite!
 

I saw these special little potatoes (you can easily substitute Fingerlings or any small potate you like) all over the shops for Christmas. There are just 7 Producteurs in Touquet growing these puppies, known for their nutty flavor and buttery texture. When Coco mentioned eating them in a bistro, I decided that's it. I'm getting them. Plus I'm mad for anything tarte tatin and the website offered a recipe. Monoprix still had pretty boxes of them so...

A quick stop in for a consultation with Géraldine of PPP. Naturalement she prefers the potatoes from Noumoutier but she was helpful none the less and took half kilo off my hands thank goodness.
 

Here's La Ratte's recipe. I made some changes.
 

For one I upped the quantity from 150gr ( a little over 3 ounces) to 350+.

I won't show you the par-boiling stage...OK. Just drop them into boiling water for about 10 minites and stick a knife in them to check for tenderness. I DID NOT PEEL the potatoes. Why ever? Isn't that where the good stuff is? Plus I added a gob of butter to the olive oil to brown them in for a more rounded taste. Or maybe they caramelize better? Qui sait.

French frying pans often come with a removable handle, nice to pop into the oven.
 

It took about 10 minutes to sauté the sliced potatoes.

When the edges get that nice brown crispy look it's time to make your tarte.
 

I simply used a leftover empty pie tin from a not very good frozen Picard quiche Lorraine. *Do cut a round piece of parchment to fit in the bottom of the tin for easy removal later.
 

The recipe shows the potato slices carefully arranged flat side down.

I couldn't be bothered. Plus I added a handful of chopped leaf parsley for color and texture not in the recipe.
 

You could use any blue cheese or any savory cheese you prefer to go on top. Best to slice the Bresse right out of the refrigerator since it gets mooshy quickly.
 

Does it get any easier? The cheese has plenty of salt so not to worry about extra salting.
 

The available ready-to-use pastries are terrific here though I have heard Picard makes the best. Still this supermarket version tasted fine to me.
 

Cut a circle using your pie plate as a guide and tuck in the sides a bit.
 

Punch some holes with a fork for steam to escape.
 

In about 15-20 minutes your pastry will be golden. Let the tarte sit 5-10 minutes, place a plate over it and turn. Voila! Not pretty as a picture but savory and easy as can be. Who knew making tarte tatin could be this simple?