Mediterranean Onion Tart Recipes

ULTIMATE ONION TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a deep 23cm fluted flan tin. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 mins.
• Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, then gently fry the onions, covered, for about 30 mins until completely softened, but still pale in colour.
• Beat the eggs and cream together in a bowl, then add the cheese and some seasoning. Stir in the onions, then spoon the mixture into the flan case. Bake for 25-30 mins until lightly set and browned.

MEDITERRANEAN ONION TART

Steps:

• Thaw bread dough as directed on package. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
• Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender. Stir in basil and white pepper.
• Flatten dough into rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough with floured rolling pin into 14x11-inch rectangle. Place on cookie sheet; let stand 15 minutes.
• Spoon onion mixture evenly over dough to within 1 inch of edges. Arrange anchovies in lattice pattern on onions. Top with olives. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Heat oven to 425°F. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

MEDITERRANEAN ONION TART

Steps:

• Thaw bread dough as directed on package. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
• Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender. Stir in basil and white pepper.
• Flatten dough into rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough with floured rolling pin into 14x11-inch rectangle. Place on cookie sheet; let stand 15 minutes.
• Spoon onion mixture evenly over dough to within 1 inch of edges. Arrange anchovies in lattice pattern on onions. Top with olives. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

VIDALIA ONION TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
• In a large heavy skillet, saute butter and diced Vidalia onion. Cook until lightly caramelized. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream. Slowly whisk in evaporated milk. Whisk in dry soup mix until completely incorporated. Whisk in eggs. Mix in the shredded cheese until blended. Spoon mixture into an unbaked pastry. Place pie on a cookie sheet and place into oven.
• Bake in preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes; or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes.

ONION TART

Steps:

• Blend flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Scatter butter over flour, top with lid and pulse 12 pulses to cut butter into flour to a coarse meal consistency.
• Dump butter-flour mixture into a medium stainless bowl. Make a well in the center and pour ice-cold water into the well.
• Using a flexible plastic dough scraper instead of your warm hands, bring the dough together by folding and pressing. Be firm and brisk and get the dough past its shaggy stage into a neat disk, trying to avoid using your hands or too much kneading. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Meanwhile, cut the onions in half and peel them. Slice the halves with the ribs (root end to sprout end direction), not against, to create julienne slices rather than half moons.
• In a wide sauté pan over medium-low heat, melt the bacon fat and slowly sweat the onions until they are caramelized. Take all the minutes you need - 25 or so - to let them soften to translucent, then to let the water they release start to evaporate, then to allow the sugars they contain to start to brown in the pan, so that you end up with soft, sweet and evenly browned onions. This is achieved by a slow caramelization. Set onions aside to cool.
• Roll tart dough out to a 1/4-inch-thick round, and drape over a round 10-inch fluted false-bottom tart pan. Lay dough into the pan, gently pressing into the bottom, and roll the pin across the pan to cut off the excess dough. Use your fingers to press the edges into the flutes, accentuating the shape of the dough edge. Dock the bottom of the dough with the tines of a fork, weight the pastry with beans or weight and blind-bake for 25 minutes.
• In a bowl, beat the egg with the cream. Stir in the caramelized onions. Season with pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste. Stir well, and make sure the onions are all evenly coated with the custard.
• Remove tart shell from oven, and slip it onto a baking sheet. Remove weights, fill with the onion-custard mixture and distribute it evenly. Return tart to oven on the sheet, and bake for 25 minutes, or until custard has set, the tops of the onions start to achieve a deeper brown and the dough is dark golden brown at the edges.
• Remove from the ring, and allow to cool just a few minutes on the rack, so that the piping hot tart shell can kind of tighten up enough to be sliced with a sharp chef's knife. (In the first few minutes straight out of the oven, the dough is kind of soft from the heat, possibly giving you the false impression that you have a soggy tart. Let it sit on the rack just to shake off this initial soft stage and to recrisp and refirm, which it will.) Cut into wedges, and serve while hot.

MEDITERRANEAN UPSIDE DOWN TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190°C.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and gently sauté the onion, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, capsicums, garlic and seasonings until softish, stirring occasionally.
• Place the tomatoes, olives, feta, basil and sautéed veggies into a bowl and toss well, then transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish.
• Cut a pastry sheet to fit the dish and place it on top of the vegetables. Tuck in the edges and cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden and has risen slightly .
• Allow the tart to cool a little and then invert it onto a large serving platter, so that the pastry is now on the bottom.
• Serve warm or at room temperature as a main dish for brunch or lunch or as a side dish served with other Mediterranean dishes, in which case it would serve more than 4.