Three Onion Tart Recipes

THREE ONION TART

Steps:

• Make the shortcrust pastry (see recipe below). You can also watch how to make the pastry in our Cookery School Video on the right. Begin by peeling and slicing the red and white onions in half, then slice thinly so that you get half moons. Now chop the sage leaves finely, reserving about 8 whole leaves for later. Next in a large, thick-based saucepan melt the butter then add the sliced onions and, keeping the heat highish, toss them around until they are lightly tinged brown at the edges - which will take about 5 minutes. Now turn the heat down to low and leave them to cook slowly, stirring from time to time, for about half an hour to 40 minutes, by which time they should be meltingly brown. Then stir in the chopped sage and some salt and freshly-milled pepper. While that's happening roll out the pastry and line the flan tin with it, making sure you leave about ¼ inch (5 mm) sticking up above the rim (to allow for shrinkage). Prick the base all over with a fork and pre-bake it for 10 minutes. Now beat up the eggs, and brush the pastry base with a little of the beaten egg, then let it cook for a further five minutes. Meanwhile chop the spring onions (including the green parts) quite small. Remove the pastry from the oven and sprinkle in the spring onions, followed by the cooked onions. Next beat the eggs into the crème fraiche with some seasoning, and pour all over the onions - you will need to spread it out evenly and don't worry if it looks a bit thick, it will melt and surround the onions during the cooking. Finally sprinkle the Parmesan all over and cook it for 30 minutes on the centre shelf of the oven. Then brush each reserved sage leaf with a little oil and arrange them on top of the tart, and return it to the oven for another five minutes or until the centre feels springy. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

ONION TART

Steps:

• Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. , In a small skillet, saute onions in oil until tender; cool. In a food processor, combine the eggs, feta cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and hot pepper sauce; cover and process until smooth. Gradually add cream and milk; process until blended., Brush the inside of crust with mustard. Sprinkle the green onions, chives and sauteed onions over crust. Carefully pour egg mixture over onions. Top with Parmesan cheese. , Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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.

THREE-ONION TART WITH TALEGGIO

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add egg and oil to well. Pour melted butter and milk into well. Mix ingredients in well, gradually incorporating flour until dough forms. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Form into ball. Wrap in kitchen towel; let stand at room temperature 2 hours.
• Combine leeks and oil in large nonstick skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until leeks are tender but not brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Stir in red onion and green onions. Sauté uncovered until all onions are very tender, about 25 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Cool. Mix in egg, then Taleggio cheese.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on floured surface, forming 13-inch round. Transfer to large rimless baking sheet. Fold outer 1 inch of dough over, forming double-thick rim. Spread topping evenly over crust. Bake tart 10 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan over. Bake until crust is golden, about 15 minutes longer. Cut into wedges.

DEBORAH MADISON'S FRAGRANT ONION TART

Steps:

• To make the filling, cut onions in half, peel them, and if they are strong, put them in a bowl of cold water. It doesn't take long for that to reduce their sting. Finely dice them.
• If you're using bacon, fry until browned and nearly crisp, then scoop out and drain on a paper towel. Throw out bacon grease, wipe out pan and add 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, add onions, thyme and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. The onions needn't be caramelized, but should just take on a faint golden hue. When done, let them cool slightly. Taste for salt (they'll be very sweet, you might want to add more) and season well with pepper.
• While onions cook, whisk eggs with crème fraîche and milk. Stir in cooled onions, cheese and bacon, if using.
• To make the crust, put flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add 6 tablespoons butter and turn mixer to low speed until butter has broken into small, pebble-size pieces. Drizzle in ice water until dough looks clumpy and damp. (You'll use about 3 tablespoons, fewer if butter was soft.) Form dough into a disk or a rectangle to correspond to the shape pan you're using. You have a few choices: a 9-inch tart pan, a square tart pan or a rectangular one (11 by 81/2 inches), all with removable bottoms. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough to fit tart pan, then drape dough in pan. Neatly press dough into pan and shape it. Set it on a sheet pan. Pour onion mixture into tart pan, and bake until surface is golden and browned in places, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool to warm before cutting into slices and serving.

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.

THREE-ONION, SUN-DRIED TOMATO, OLIVE TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl proof the yeast with the sugar in 1/4 cup of the water for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. In a large bowl stir together 2 3/4 cups of the flour, the salt, 1 tablespoon of the oil, the remaining 2/3 cup water, and the yeast mixture until the mixture forms a dough and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, kneading in enough of the remaining 1/4 cup flour to form a soft dough. Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes more, or until it is smooth and elastic, and form it into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat it well, and let it rise, covered loosely, in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is double in bulk.
• In a heavy skillet cook the white onions in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and golden and let them cool. In a bowl whisk together the sour cream and the eggs and stir in the white onions and salt and pepper to taste.
• Punch down the dough and roll it into a 17- by 13-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer the rectangle to a large baking sheet, with your fingers form a 1/4-inch rim around the edges of the rectangle, and spread the sour-cream mixture evenly over the dough. Scatter the red onion and the scallion greens over half the dough and scatter the sun-dried tomatoes and the olives over the remaining half. Bake the tart in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 25 minutes, transfer it to a rack, and let it cool for 10 minutes. Cut the tart into 2-inch-wide diamonds.

ONION TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, process the flour, butter and water together in a food processor for a few minutes until a rough dough forms. Remove, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
• Roll the dough out on a floured bench and gently press into the tin. Trim the pastry to fit and reserve the left-over pastry to patch any cracks.
• To blind-bake the tart, line the pastry shell with foil and fill with baking weights or uncooked rice or beans. Bake until cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. If there are any cracks, patch with the left- over pastry.
• While the tart shell is baking, prepare the filling.
• In a large frying pan over low to medium heat, sauté the onion in the oil until very soft and light brown. This may take up to an hour. Set aside to cool slightly. Beat the egg yolks with the cream. Add the nutmeg and season well with salt and pepper. Stir the onion through the cream mixture.
• Carefully fill the pastry shell with the filling, place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the filling is set. Serve warm or at room temperature.