Watch the step by step video at this link https://www.instagram.com/tv/CD13LPbhGc5/
I know Prisca Leclerc as the very gifted makeup artist who has worked with me for many years but once food is the centre of our discussion, I quickly realize how little I actually know about her and what a wonderful life story she has.
Born in France to a French father and a Finnish Mom, she grew up among people who love cooking and inviting guests home to join around the dining table for a french style endless feasts. Early on, Prisca was exposed to the culture of gastronomy and slow cooking celebratory feasts, spending time in the French markets with her Mom, hunting for the best ingredients, the freshest and most fragrant herbs to elevate any dish.
After moving to Finland at the age of three, she continued her be food discovery by travelling every summer to the countryside in France and visit her dad, who, in the true French fashion, favoured large gathering and often held big parties where he was at the heart of the kitchen.
He always showed his love through cooking to Prisca and her kids and almost as a homage to his past as a seafood restaurateur would send her the whole weekly menu already a month before they would travel to visit him!
Her father passed away 2 weeks before the project came to life and he never got a chance to see it complete, making this book so much more than a collection of recipes from her childhood.
The desire to follow her heart took a lot of courage to leave the makeup & fashion world behind after 25 years and focus on the culinary world and she strated creating recipes for a magazine called Kotoliving and doing food stories for Sanoma magazines.
The next serious move was deciding being a professional cook and started studying in Perho.
Since she became a chef she has been working as a foodcontent producer and for several magazines.
- 125 g soft butter in room temperature
- ½ dl chopped thyme
- 3 dl flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-1,5 tbsp water
- 500 g cherry tomatoes
- 1 clove of garlic
- 25 g butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
Heat the oven to 200 c.
Preparing the dough
Chop the thyme.
Measure the flour into a bowl, add the soft, diced butter and pluck with fingertips until it makes a grainy mixture.
Add thyme, salt and mix.
Add a bit of water at a time and knead/press shortly until the dough makes into a ball but stays barely together. Let the dough rest in room temperature as you prepare the tomatoes.
Wash and dry the tomatoes.
Measure the sugar and butter into a cast iron pan or one that can be put in oven.
Let the sugar and butter melt till brown and then add the tomatoes.
Wait till the tomatoes soften a bit and then add the vinegar and salt.
Sauté the tomatoes on medium heat, until most of the juice has evaporated and became a syrup.
Peel and mince the clove and add on the tomatoes at the end.
Take the pan off the stove and let cool for a few minutes.
Add the dough on the tomatoes.
Arrange the tomatoes evenly on the pan.
Toss some flour on your worktop.
Take a handful of dough and flatten to a 0,5 mm piece with the palm of your hands on the worktop.
Set the piece of dough on the tomatoes in the pan.
Continue until the tomatoes are covered like a patchwork quilt.
Put into oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the dough turns light brown and feels crispy.
Take the pan out the oven, let it cool for a few minutes and flip the tatin over on a big plate to serve.
Serve the tatin warm or cold with your favourite cheese and a fresh salad.
Hungry in Helsinki 