« Chorizo and Bean Soup with Smoked Paprika and Sherry Vinegar | Main | Rutabaga Stories »
January 28, 2007
Cheese and Caramelized Onion Tart
This is another one from Nigel Slater's Appetite. This was the first time I had worked with store-bought puff pastry (or any kind of puff pastry for that matter). It's a great way to make something elegant with relatively little effort.
Though the technique is easy, this particular recipe is not quick, because you need to caramelize the onions. I think it took at least an hour, possibly longer - I didn't really keep track, because I was puttering around the kitchen with a friend, making other stuff, and just giving the onions the odd stir now and then. If you were pressed for time, I think the tart would be equally delicious with sauteed mushrooms, or cooked spinach, or thinly sliced artichoke hearts, or perhaps some sauteed eggplant and tomato, or...the possibilities are endless. Expect to see other tarts appear in this blog. (Though probably not right away - with the richness of the puff pastry and the cheese, this is definitely a "sometimes food".)
I served this cut up into itty bitty squares as a party snack, but it would work as a main dish paired with a nice green salad.
The Ingredients
- 1 sheet (1/2 lb. of pastry) from a package of pre-rolled frozen puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm, which is just about the only brand of frozen puff-pastry I ever see around here.) Ambitious types may, of course, roll their own.
- 6 medium onions, halved and sliced (The thinner the slices, the faster your onions will caramelize. However, thicker slices will give a more substantial texture and will be less likely to burn. We went for 1/4 inch thick slices. This also looks like an impossibly large pile of onions, but it cooks down to next to nothing.)
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 4-5 oz. good melting cheese (I used a domestic fontina, which was good, but I think next time I would have picked something slightly sharper, like a real Italian fontina or maybe a Gruyere, and used a bit less of it. Slater actually suggests Taleggio, which is not carried by my local supermarket, or Camembert.)
- Leaves from a few sprigs fresh thyme
The Steps
- In your largest skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Pile in the onions, and cook, stirring now and then, until the onions are deep golden-brown and caramelized, at least 45 minutes, possibly longer.
If you're like me, you're probably going to spend the first twenty minutes of this process looking at the onions and thinking, "Uh oh, they're not getting brown. It's not going to work." Patience. It will work.
- Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions. Lightly flour a baking sheet and unroll the puff pastry onto it.
- Score the pastry lightly with a knife to create a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Prick the area inside the border all over with a fork.
- Cut the cheese into small slices or break it up into small chunks.
- Spread the caramelized onions over the puff pastry inside the scored border. Tuck bits of cheese into the onion mixture.
- Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden and the cheese is melted.
- Cut into squares and serve.
Posted by spaceling at January 28, 2007 09:50 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.danielstarr.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/130
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)