A classical French dish to be shared with friends over a glass of Beaujolais, an espresso, some brie or Camembert and a little cranberry sauce with a splash of lemon juice in it for extra tartness and not a hint of meat in sight! This is not an English equivalent of Tarta Cebulowa, although there are similarities of components (tart shell and onions..). Just two different interpretations of a similar concept.
The trick seems to be that the onion must be really caramelized, and really dry – I made my first tart patiently, but not patiently enough and the finished tart was too runny to cut elegant slices
Onion Tart
- blind baked pastry shell
- 6 onions
- 3 eggs
- 300 ml cream (or milk)
- Peel and finely slice the onions
- Heat a pan and add a little olive oil It is best to use a flat and open pan, as the process call for slow but definite removal of humidity from onion as you go..
- Place in the onion and cook gently for 30 minutes until the onion has turned a light golden brown, stirring often. This slow cooking process will caramelize the natural sugars and turn the onion very sweet
- Drain if required and place in the pastry case
- Lightly whisk the cream and eggs together, season with sea salt, freshly milled pepper and grated nutmeg
- Pour over the onions, the mixture should be just below the edge of the pastry case
- Place in a pre-heated oven (170ºC or 325F) and bake until the egg mixture sets (approx. 20 minutes)