Tarte Tatin

If one of your new year's resolutions was to eat more fruit and veg, then this is for you. Invented in the 1880s by those tarty Tatin sisters 100 miles south of Paris, I bet my version would barely raise a Gallic sneer as I've used ready-made puff pastry for speed. There are also some nifty savoury versions, made with tomatoes or red onions and cheesy pastry which we'll come back to another day.

I rushed the caramelisation - 7/10 for looks, 10/10 for taste

Tarte Tatin

6 apples
70g butter
70g brown sugar
A block of ready-made puff pastry
Vanilla pod (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 200/gas 6. Put the sugar, butter and vanilla seeds (if using) into a frying pan with a heatproof handle and heat until the sugar dissolves, the mixture foams and it starts to turn a darker shade of brown. Meanwhile, slice the apples (not too thin, not too thick). Take the pan off the heat and arrange the apples in 2 or 3 concentric layers, then return it to the heat for 5-10 minutes until the caramel starts to bubble up around the edges of the apples. Remove it and cover with a circle of pastry large enough to tuck down inside the edge of the pan. Put some slits in the pastry and bake it for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Leave it to cool until the pan can be picked up with bare hands, then invert it over a large plate - and pray. Eat warm with cold cream, ice cream, creme fraiche etc.