I’m a little obsessed with upside down tarts.  They’re just too pretty! The concept is simple: roast whatever’s going on top, toss that in the bottom of a pan, add some kind of sautéed green as a filling, roll a pie crust over it, bake until golden brown, flip, and boom! Tart time.  This little idea will work with practically any combination, and it looks like A LOT more effort than it actually is, which, as you know, is always my goal.  Few things make me happier than people thinking I’m a domestic goddess when I’m actually a pretty lazy homemaker.  This tart is also delicious at room temperature or straight out of the fridge, so make it the night before your next brunch! 

INGREDIENTS

For one 9 inch tart

3-4 yams, peeled and sliced 3/4 inch thick, horizontally across

olive oil

3 sprigs thyme, leaves roughly chopped

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 ounces kale (one big bunch), stemmed and chopped

1/2 cup finely grated pecorino cheese

1/2 recipe pie dough (see below)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425F

First place the yam slices in a 9 inch cast iron skillet.  They should completely cover the bottom of the pan, plus one or two slices left over.   Any more slices than this, discard, and if you have less, cut more slices until the skillet is completely covered.

Spread the slices of yam across a rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the yams are tender at the edges but firm in the center. Pull out of the oven and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter and add onions. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Add garlic, cooking for 1 minute, then add kale and drizzle with a little olive oil if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until kale is wilted.  Take off heat and mix in pecorino.

Arrange the yams in one layer in a 9-inch cast iron pan lightly coated with 1 tablespoon olive oil (The pan should be about 2 inches deep.) Do not overlap the yams. Pour the kale/pecorino mixture over the yams.

On a well-floured surface, roll out your dough about 1/8 inch thick. Cut it into a circle, just a bit bigger than the size of your pan.  Place the dough over the yams and gently tuck the edges around the side of the pan.

Turn oven down to 400F and bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven  and cool until room temp.  Run a knife around the edge, and then flip. Garnish with thyme.

INGREDIENTS (PIE DOUGH)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 ounces (two sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

DIRECTIONS

In a food processor or quickly using your fingertips, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter until the chunks of butter are broken down to the size of peas and the flour feels like wet sand. Add the first 1/4 cup of water and mix until the dough comes together easily. It’s too dry if it immediately clumps apart. Add two tablespoons of water at a time, you can always add more water but not more flour, so careful not to add too much!

Gather the dough into two balls and plop them on top of two sheets of plastic wrap. Loosely wrap up each ball and press down, smooshing the ball into a disc about an inch thick.

Pop them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes while you busy yourself with the filling.