French Onion Tart Food

TARTE A L'OIGNON (FRENCH ONION PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the bacon into a skillet, and cook over medium heat until browned. Remove bacon from skillet, reserving 4 tablespoons bacon fat, and drain on paper towels.
• Place the onions into the same skillet with the bacon fat, and cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the milk and cream in a bowl. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, and stir to blend. Stir in the milk mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, stir in the bacon, and set aside to cool 10 minutes.
• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until light colored and frothy. Stir a spoonful of the onion mixture into the eggs. Add another spoonful of the onion mixture, and continue stirring. Repeat, until all the onions have been stirred into the eggs and are thoroughly blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool 5 minutes before serving.

PISSALADIERE (FRENCH ONION-ANCHOVY TART)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Roll out pastry to a 12 by 16-inch rectangle, 1/8-inch thick and transfer to a baking sheet. Brush edges of pastry with water and fold over to form a border 1-inch wide. Score border with tines of a fork and thoroughly prick center. Meanwhile, in a skillet cook onions over low heat in 2 tablespoons olive oil until golden and softened. Stir in garlic and basil. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Sprinkle bottom of tart with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and spread onion mixture over. Sprinkle onions with 2 more tablespoons cheese. Top with tomato slices and brush them with olive oil. Decorate tart with anchovies and olives. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden and crisp. Sprinkle warm tart with 2 more tablespoons cheese and chopped herbs. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.;

FRENCH ONION TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a work surface, roll the puff pastry into a roughly 10 by 16-inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, trim uneven edges to make a perfect rectangle. Evenly cut off the outer 1 inch of each side of the rectangle in strips; put the puff sheet on the baking sheet. Dip your finger in water and run around the top edges of the rectangle and replace the removed strips of pastry along the edges of the sheet, pressing lightly to adhere. With a fork, pierce the interior of the tart shell to prevent rising; do not pierce the adhered edges. Bake until the outer edges have puffed and are golden in color; about 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and thyme sprigs and season well with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown. Add the stock, a tablespoon at a time, as the pan gets dry, scraping and stirring the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom oft the pan. When the onions are caramelized to a dark golden color, remove from the heat and discard the leafless thyme sprigs (the leaves fall off while cooking).
• When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Evenly spread the caramelized onions on the cooked pastry shell and heat in the oven until warmed through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven, to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Arrange on a serving platter and garnish each wedge with a sprig of fresh thyme. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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.

FRENCH ONION AND BACON TART(ATK)

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat the oven to 375º. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Dump in all the butter and pulse about 15 times total. You want to cut the butter up smaller than you would for a flaky pie crust. Add in 2 tablespoons of the ice cold water and turn the machine on for 5-6 seconds. You'll know that you have the right amount of moisture in the dough by removing the lid, reaching in and grabbing a handful, squeeze it together and if it clumps...it's perfect. If it is still crumbly and does not stick together, then put the lid back on, add another ½ to 1 teaspoon of ice water and turn on again for another 5-6 seconds.
• Press dough in tart pan. Try and make it an even layer across the bottom of the pan.
• To avoid shrinkage place it on a plate and put it in the freezer to firm up and rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Cook bacon until crispy. Less 2 tablespoons of drippings in pan and cook onions on low/med heat with thyme & salt, covered 20mins. So not brown, sweat the onions. Pull crust out of the freezer, place it on a cookie sheet, add a sheet of foil on top and press it in gently and then fill with your favorite pie weight (dry beans, rice, actual pie weights, marbles, ball bearings). Place in the oven for 30 minutes while the onions are cooking.
• Beat the eggs and add in the half and half, a grind or two of black pepper and a touch of salt, mix well and set aside. The onions, they should be translucent, soft and very fragrant. Remove them from the heat and cool long enough that they won't cook the eggs. When the crust comes out, remove the pie weights and foil. Remove the thyme sprigs from the onions and mix them into the custard. Pour it all into the tart crust, sprinkle with bacon pieces and put it back in the 375º oven for 25-30 minutes on the middle rack.

CARAMELIZED FRENCH ONION TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat.
• Add the onions, white wine, sugar, thyme, salt and pepper and cook the onions until softened and golden brown.
• While the onions are caramelizing, combine the Ricotta cheese and egg in a small bowl and set aide.
• Unfold puff pastry sheets on a a large cookie sheet making sure both sheets connect in the middle of the pan. Gently fold in each side of the puff pastry sheets approximately 1 inch.
• Spread the Ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the puff pastry and lightly sprinkle most of the Parmesan cheese on top. Reserve some to sprinkle on top of the onions.
• Add the caramelized onions evenly over the cheese mixture and top the tart off by sprinkling any remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
• Cut into small pieces for appetizers or bigger pieces to eat as a main dish.
• Enjoy!

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.

FRENCH ONION TART WITH CHEESY THYME PASTRY

Steps:

• Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor with the 100g butter. Blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add 50g of the cheese, 1 tbsp of the thyme leaves, some freshly ground black pepper and 1 tsp salt. Blitz again briefly to combine. Add 2-3 tbsp cold water, and pulse again until it comes together into a dough. If you don't have a food processor, do this in a bowl - rub the flour into the butter first, then stir in the remaining ingredients with a knife. Wrap and chill for at least 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the 25g butter and the olive oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat, and cook the onions with a pinch of salt for 40-50 mins, stirring often, until sticky, golden and very soft when pressed with the back of a spoon. If they start to catch, reduce the heat further and add a splash of water. Be patient, as they will take a while to caramelise, but keep your eye on the pan so they don't burn.
• Stir in the vinegar, sugar and the anchovies. Keep stirring until the vinegar has evaporated, and the anchovies have dissolved into the onions. Remove from the heat.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface to a 3mm thickness. Use the pastry to line a 23cm tart tin (use the rolling pin to help you do this). Trim the edges so they're just overhanging the sides. Patch the pastry with the offcuts, if needed. Scrunch up a sheet of baking parchment, then open it out again to line the pastry, and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 mins, remove the parchment and beans, then bake for a further 5-8 mins, or until the pastry looks dry, without any raw spots.
• Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream, remaining thyme and the rest of the cheese together with a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Stir in the caramelised onions. Trim the sides of the pastry using a serrated knife to neaten the edges. Pour the filling into the pastry case and tap the tin gently on the work surface to release any bubbles.
• Bake the quiche for 25-30 mins on the middle shelf of the oven until lightly golden and set in the middle, with a slight wobble. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 15-20 mins, then slice. To make the salad, whisk the olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl, then toss in the remaining ingredients. Pile the salad on top of the quiche, or serve alongside. If you like, leave the quiche to cool completely, then chill before serving. Will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

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.

FRENCH ONION AND BLUE CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Start by cooking the onions. They need to be cooked slowly on low heat, so it's best to begin with those.
• Melt the butter in a large nonstick frying pan-we have a load of onions to cook. When the butter has melted, pick off the thyme leaves and add, then add the garlic and onions. Mix everything together.
• Now add the pepper, salt, and sugar and mix. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you have onions that look like the kind you would only eat with a burger in a Sunday market at 6 a.m.!
• While that cooks, start on the pastry. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper or use the paper the pastry comes in and roll out the pastry onto the sheet.
• Using a knife, score a smaller rectangle ½ inch/1cm inside the pastry rectangle, making sure not to cut all the way through. Pierce the inner rectangle with a fork all over to allow the steam to escape when it bakes.
• Brush the edges with the egg and bake for 20 minutes, until golden all over.
• Take out and, using the back of a spoon, push down all the puffed-up pastry of the inner rectangle, creating a nice neat border.
• Take the blue cheese and crumble all over the inner rectangle of the pastry. Add the onions and scatter them all over till you have an even layer. Now bake for 15 minutes.
• Take out and let cool for 10 minutes before eating, sprinkled with the chives.