Mary Berry Caramelized Onion Tart Recipes

CARAMELISED ONION TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Slide a baking sheet in to heat. Roll the pastry out enough to line a deep 20cm flan tin or a shallow 23cm one. Chill for 10 mins.
• Put a few balls of crumpled foil in the base of the pastry case and bake on the baking sheet for 10 mins. Remove the foil and bake for 5 mins more, until light golden.
• Meanwhile, cook the onions in the oil until starting to soften, then add thyme, pepper, and salt if you want to. Cook slowly for about 15 mins until the onions are soft and tinged brown.
• Beat the eggs, beat in the milk and half the cheese and some pepper. Spread the onions over the flan case and pour in the egg mix. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake the tart on the baking sheet for 30-40 mins until the filling is firm and golden, and the pastry crisp. Serve warm or cold.

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.

GOAT CHEESE AND CARAMELIZED ONION TARTS

Steps:

• Cut thawed puff pastry into six 3- to 4-inch rounds using a cookie cutter. Roll edges of each pastry slightly to form 6 small tarts. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; stir in sweet onion. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until onion is very tender and dark brown, about 40 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and let simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Divide cooked onions between the 6 tart shells and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle goat cheese evenly on top of each tart.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle each with balsamic vinegar reduction.
• Return tarts to the oven and continue to bake until cheese is bubbly and tarts are golden brown, about 8 minutes more.

CARAMELISED ONION AND GOAT'S CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Grease two baking sheets. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions over a low heat for 20 minutes, until softened. Add the honey, soy, thyme and pepper and stir for a further 10 minutes on low. Add 1 tablespoon of cold water to the hot pan and stir, mixing in all of the juices from the base of the pan. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Slice the pastry sheet in half lengthways and put one piece on each baking sheet. Lightly score a line 5cm/2in in from the edge around each sheet to create a border. Divide the onion mixture evenly between the pastry shets and spread within the border, to allow the pastry to puff up around the edge. Lay the goat's cheese slices at intervals over both pastries and bake for 25 minutes, until cooked and golden.

CARAMELISED BALSAMIC AND RED ONION TARTS WITH GOATS' CHEESE

Steps:

• First make up the pastry by rubbing the butter lightly on to the flour, then adding the cheese, mustard and cayenne plus just enough cold water to make a smooth dough. Then place the dough in a polythene bag to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. After that, roll it out as thinly as possible and use a 5 inch (13 cm) cutter, or a saucer or something similar, to stamp out 8 rounds. Line the greased tins with them, then bake in the oven, centre shelf, for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through but not coloured. Then cool the pastry cases on a wire rack and store them in an airtight tin until they are needed. To make the filling, melt the butter in a heavy-based, medium-sized saucepan, stir in the onions, balsamic vinegar and chopped sage, season and let everything cook very gently without a lid, stirring often, for about 30 minutes until they have reduced down and taken on a lovely glazed appearance and all the excess liquid has evaporated away. You can also watch how to chop onions in our Cookery School Video on this page. Then let the mixture cool until you are ready to make the tarts. To bake them, brush a little beaten egg on to each pastry case, pop them back into the oven, same temperature as above, for 5 minutes - this helps to provide a seal for the pastry and helps it from becoming soggy. Now spoon the onion mixture into the cases. Top each one with a slice of goats' cheese and a sage leaf that has first been dipped into olive oil. Finally sprinkle with a little cayenne and bake for 20 minutes.