Courgette Caramelised Red Onion Tart Recipes

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.

CARAMELIZED ONION TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat and stir in onion. Pour in red wine to cover the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with sugar. Cook and stir until onions are tender and translucent, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Combine heavy cream, mozzarella cheese, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Stir into onion mixture.
• Cut pie crusts into 3-inch circles using a cookie cutter. Place circles into the bottom of 12 muffin cups in a muffin tin.
• Spoon onion mixture evenly on top of the tart crusts.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before popping tartlets out of the muffin tin.

RED ONION, FETA & OLIVE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then gently fry the onions for about 10 mins until golden and soft. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar, then cook for a further 5 mins until the juices are reduced and syrupy. Leave to cool.
• Unroll the puff pastry onto a baking tray. Score a line a finger-width in from the edge all the way around, then cover the middle with the onion mix. Scatter the feta and olives over. Season and drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the topping.
• Bake for 15 mins or until the pastry is risen and golden and the base is crisp. Cut into wedges and serve with a green salad.

CARAMELISED ONION PUFF PASTRY TART

Steps:

• Finely slice the onions, then put them in a large, lidded pan with the oil and cook over a low heat for 30 mins, stirring from time to time.
• Remove the lid and turn up the heat, cooking the onions until they brown and caramelise, stirring often.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Unroll the pastry and place on a greased baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut a 2cm border around the edge of the pastry, going almost but not quite through the pastry. Glaze the edge of the pastry with beaten egg.
• Spread the mustard over the base of the tart and pile on the onions, spreading them out to meet the edge. Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and thyme leaves together, and sprinkle this topping evenly over the onions. Bake the tart for 18-20 mins or until the pastry is golden brown.