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Rustic Onion Tart

Rustic Onion Tart

I recently observed my friend Suzanne whip up a couple onion tarts for a family meal and was so impressed by the wonderful flavor of the caramelized onion, I decided to try my hand at it. I've deviated a bit from Suzanne's recipe, and have followed some tips from Helen of Beyond Salmon who has a lovely tomato onion tart posted on her site to come up with the following recipe. We all loved it. Making an onion tart may a little involved, but if you are using a packaged frozen crust (use the flat or folded kind), it's very easy. Caramelizing the onions takes an hour, but you don't have to stir them that often. However, if you are making a crust from scratch, as I am prone to do, well, that's a whole other level of complexity and of course, rewards.

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Rustic Onion Tart Recipe

Ingredients

1 Pâte Brisée (tart dough) for one 10-inch tart (see method for making pâte brisée) or 1 packaged, flat pie crust (Trader Joe's has one in their frozen section)
3 medium sized red onions
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
Salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup (not packed) roughly grated Gruyère Swiss cheese

Method

1 If you are making a crust from scratch, prepare the dough and let it chill in the refrigerator while you are cooking the onions.

2 Peel and slice the onions.

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3 Heat olive oil and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan on medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and sprinkle a little salt over them. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, until the onions have softened and are translucent. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for an additional 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are well browned. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for 10 minutes more, until onions are completely caramelized. Remove from heat.

4 Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes before rolling it out. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10-inch diameter. Remove the crust dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

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5 Place all but a couple tablespoons of the cheese in the center of the dough. Spread to within 1 1/2 inches from the edges. Add the caramelized onions, layering them on top of the cheese. Fold the edges of the crust dough over so that a small circle of onion is still showing in the centre of the tart. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the tart.

6 Place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 10 minutes at 450°F. Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

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13 Comments

Gorgeous ... with the addition of maybe a tablespoon or two of brown sugar, this is how I cook (and cook and cook and cook) onions for fajitas. I'm curious: have you tried the Trader Joe's pie crust?

Posted by: Alanna on September 12, 2006 8:02 AM

Wow, this looks delicious. Carmelized onions sell me on any recipe. Alanna, I like Trader Joe's pie crust... actually I like almost anything from Trader Joe's! Although, homemade pie crust can't be beaten.

Posted by: Kate on September 12, 2006 8:19 AM

Just a comment about the TJs Pie Crust - I haven't used it personally, but I know from experience that it's seasonal - you can probably find it now through Feb or so, but they don't have it year round.

Posted by: Ari on September 12, 2006 4:06 PM

Oh, onions always make me happy, especially caramelized. I must try this.
BTW, TJ's crust is the best pre-made one I've found.

Posted by: Lady Amalthea on September 13, 2006 12:01 PM

An awful lot of the premade pie crusts still use lard (buh-bye vegetarian recipe, hello stomach cramps all night long). Anyone know of a good one that doesn't? Does the TJ's crust have lard in it?

Posted by: art-sweet on September 14, 2006 7:05 AM

I'm always looking for any new and different recipies with onions and boy was this different. Enough to be a favorite when people come over. Love it!

Posted by: Mark on September 15, 2006 10:04 AM

Elise, I made this tonight and it was really wonderful! I'm writing it up as we speak--thanks for the recipe.

Posted by: Marianne on September 15, 2006 8:31 PM

This is a rich, delicious tart. I made the onions the day before, assembled and baked the tart the next morning and reheated it just before serving. Obviously this is a forgiving recipe and a much appreciated one as well. Thank you!

Posted by: Laura on September 24, 2006 12:28 PM

This was absolutely fantastic, and so easy! You really can't go wrong with caramelized onions and gruyere-- so delicious! I think this will be a go-to dish when I need a quick savory appetizer.

Posted by: Liz on September 25, 2006 10:28 AM

Anyone know of a good gf crust that can be used for the tart?

Thanks!

Cheryl

Posted by: cheryl on August 21, 2007 9:49 PM

This was truly divine! Cheated and used a store bought dough, but a using cave-aged gruyere more than made up for it. Thanks for a fabulous recipe that I'll be sure to make again and again.

Posted by: Erin on January 17, 2008 4:00 PM

Could I put this together for a party and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so before baking?
Also, if I wanted to add a little meat to this would you reccomend a sweet italian sauasage or prosciutto?
Thanks, it looks like an easy summer beauty.

I don't think there would be a problem with letting this sit in the fridge for an hour before baking. Regarding meat, both Italian sausage and prosciutto sound like delicious additions. ~Elise

Posted by: Sarah on May 20, 2008 8:43 AM

I have doubled this and saved one in the freezer, swathed in its parchment paper and then snugged in foil. I took it out and let it come to room temp then popped it in the oven. It was just as good as the freshly made. You can also roast the onion in the oven if you can't tend the stove.

Posted by: margaret on November 26, 2008 4:22 PM

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