French Onion Tart With Cheesy Thyme Pastry Recipes

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!

FRENCH ONION TART RECIPE

Steps:

• Peel and slice onion. Keep aside.
• Prepare the savory custard filling. Combine egg, liquid cream, thyme, salt and black pepper in a bowl to a smooth consistency. Keep aside.
• Place rolled out pastry dough into a tart pan and cut off extra on the edges. Poke into pastry with a fork to create small holes. That's so that the pastry doesn't deform when baking blind.
• Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit/ 200 Celsius.
• Place a cut out round baking sheet, which is fitting into the tart base, and keep beans or pie weights on the round cut out baking sheet. Bake your crust alone (called baking blind) for 15 minutes at 400 Fahrenheit/ 200 Celsius. *see notes if you want to skip this step.
• Heat up a pan with the butter and sautee onions soft. This can take 10-15 minutes (time added to total cooking time in recipe)
• Place cooked onions into the tart crust and spread out evenly. Pour savory custard mixture over the onions.
• Bake tart for 30 minutes at 400-430 Fahrenheit/ 200-220 Fahrenheit. *see Notes

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.

FRENCH TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Fit bowl of food processor with the metal blade; add in the flour, sugar, salt, and butter.
• Process on/off for 10 seconds (ten 1 second pulses) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add the egg and water to a small bowl; beat to mix.
• Through the feed tube, add the egg/water mixture and continue to process briefly (about 20 seconds) only until the mixture barely (but not completely) holds together.
• Turn mixture out onto a large unfloured board or smooth work surface; knead briefly (only a few seconds) until the mixture is smooth and holds together; press the mixture together to form a ball.
• Smooth the sides and flour it lightly.
• *Unless the kitchen is terribly hot, or unless you have handled the mixture too much (enough to melt the butter), it is not necessary to refrigerate this before using; if you must, refrigerate it for only about an hour or less; if it is refrigerated too long it will crack when you roll it out.
• Roll out and fit into tart pan.

ONION AND THYME TART

Steps:

• For the pastry, sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and all the butter is combined.
• Add one to two tablespoons of water and mix to bring the mixture together as a dough. If it seems too dry add another tablespoon of water. Form into a ball and flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and leave it to rest in the fridge for half an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• For the filling, heat a large heavy-based frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the butter and, once melted, stir in the onions along with a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the onions for 20-30 minutes, or until golden-brown and completely softened. Stir them often and make sure that none burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir in the thyme.
• Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out until the thickness of a £1 coin. Grease a 20cm/8in or 23cm/9in tart tin with butter and line the tin with the pastry, pressing it into the edges. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove, brush the base and inside edges with a little of the beaten egg, place back in the oven for five minutes and then remove.
• Mix the remaining beaten egg with the cream and cooked onions. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon the onion mixture into the pastry case and spread evenly.
• Place back into the preheated oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is set but with a slight wobble when poked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before slicing into wedges and serving. This is also delicious cold.