Suzannes Spring Onion And Morel Tart Recipes

SUZANNE'S SPRING ONION AND MOREL TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, puree ricotta until smooth. Add one egg yolk, and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Pulse to combine. Transfer to a small bowl, and fold in creme fraiche, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add half of the mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the released liquid has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, and continue to cook until mushrooms are tender and slightly crisp, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat process with remaining mushrooms.
• While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the onions: Cut the white bulbous part of the onions into 1/2-inch wedges. Slice enough of the greens across on the diagonal to equal 1/2 cup; set aside. Discard the remaining greens.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add the onion wedges, remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook until soft and just beginning to color, about 2 minutes. Be sure not to stir onions too much during cooking so they hold their shape. Remove from heat, and let stand in pan until cool to the touch.
• Make an egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Roll out puff pastry 1/4 inch thick. Using a pastry wheel, cut into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle, reserve scraps for another use. Transfer to a baking sheet. Score the edge of the tart by running a sharp knife around the perimeter of the pastry 1/4 inch from edge, cutting only halfway through dough. Brush edges of tart with egg wash.
• Spread ricotta mixture evenly within the borders of the scoring. Scatter half of the mushrooms over the ricotta. Lay the Cantal slices evenly over the mushrooms. Gently combine the remaining mushrooms with the cooled onions and the sliced onion greens. Scatter this mixture evenly over the cheese. Can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated for up to 1 day.
• Bake until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown, about 24 minutes, turning once after 12 minutes. Remove from oven, let rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut into 6 slices. Serve with parsley salad.

SMOKED HADDOCK, SPRING ONION & SAFFRON TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to fit a 23cm fluted tart tin. Line the case with pastry, leaving plenty of overhang. Line the pastry with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and sit it on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 mins, until the pastry looks pale and feels a little sandy. Remove the paper and beans, then return to the oven for 10 mins more, until just golden.
• Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to a simmer. Drop in the haddock, skin-side down, and poach for 5 mins or until the flesh turns white. Drain, then cool a little. Peel away and discard the skin, then flake the flesh into the pastry case. Look out for any bones as you go.
• Melt the butter in a frying pan, then gently cook the spring onions for about 3 mins or until softened but still a vibrant green. Beat the eggs, crème fraîche or cream, mustard and saffron together in a jug, then add the chives and season with salt and pepper.
• Turn oven down to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Scatter the cheese and spring onions over the fish, then pour the egg mix over. Bake for about 50 mins, or until pale golden and just set in the middle. Let the tart cool completely before trimming the pastry around the edges. Leave the tart in its tin to transport. The tart is also very good hot or warm.

DEBORAH MADISON'S FRAGRANT ONION TART

Steps:

• To make the filling, cut onions in half, peel them, and if they are strong, put them in a bowl of cold water. It doesn't take long for that to reduce their sting. Finely dice them.
• If you're using bacon, fry until browned and nearly crisp, then scoop out and drain on a paper towel. Throw out bacon grease, wipe out pan and add 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, add onions, thyme and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. The onions needn't be caramelized, but should just take on a faint golden hue. When done, let them cool slightly. Taste for salt (they'll be very sweet, you might want to add more) and season well with pepper.
• While onions cook, whisk eggs with crème fraîche and milk. Stir in cooled onions, cheese and bacon, if using.
• To make the crust, put flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add 6 tablespoons butter and turn mixer to low speed until butter has broken into small, pebble-size pieces. Drizzle in ice water until dough looks clumpy and damp. (You'll use about 3 tablespoons, fewer if butter was soft.) Form dough into a disk or a rectangle to correspond to the shape pan you're using. You have a few choices: a 9-inch tart pan, a square tart pan or a rectangular one (11 by 81/2 inches), all with removable bottoms. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough to fit tart pan, then drape dough in pan. Neatly press dough into pan and shape it. Set it on a sheet pan. Pour onion mixture into tart pan, and bake until surface is golden and browned in places, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool to warm before cutting into slices and serving.

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.