Vidalia Onion Tart With Bacon Local Honey And Fresh Thyme Recipe Epicuriouscom

ONION AND BACON TART

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Stir together water, honey, and yeast in bowl of mixer and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add flour and salt and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until a dough forms. Attach dough hook and knead dough at medium speed until dough no longer sticks to side of bowl, 10 to 15 minutes. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 4 hours. (Dough will be sticky.)
• Make topping:
• Put pizza stone in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Sprinkle bacon in a 12-inch skillet and add water. Cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is translucent, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then pour 1 tablespoon bacon fat into a 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan. Cool fat to warm, then grease pan with your fingers. Discard any remaining bacon fat and reserve skillet.
• With greased fingers, transfer dough to baking pan and stretch into a small rectangle. Continue to stretch until dough is a 10- by 8-inch rectangle, letting it rest about 3 minutes between stretches. (Dough will become more malleable as it rests.)
• Assemble and bake tart:
• Heat butter in reserved skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook onions with caraway seeds, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Spread onions on a baking sheet and cool completely, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir together crème fraîche, thyme, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, then dollop over dough and spread evenly to edges with offset spatula. Sprinkle with bacon and onions.
• Bake tart in pan on stone until edges of crust are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack until warm, about 10 minutes, before cutting. Serve warm.
• Available from The Baker's Catalogue (800-827-6836).

VIDALIA ONION TART WITH BACON, LOCAL HONEY, AND FRESH THYME

Steps:

• To prepare the pastry, pulse together the flour, butter, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade until the butter is about the size of small peas-about ten pulses. Gradually, drizzle in the ice water while pulsing. The amount needed will depend on the moisture content of the flour. Add just enough water for the dough to form a loose ball. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly form the dough into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to three days) to rest. Preheat oven to 375 degrees about 20 minutes before you're planning to bake the tart.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon in a single layer and cook, turning as needed, until the bacon is crispy and the fat has been rendered. Remove the bacon to drain on paper towels to cool, chopping coarsely once cool enough to handle. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat (discarding the rest or using for another purpose) in the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook over medium heat until the onions have softened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Do not let the onions brown!
• Add the wine and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until the wine has cooked down to a glaze, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the honey and reserved chopped bacon. Stir and cook 5 minutes more. Remove the onion mixture from the heat and spoon into a shallow pan; refrigerate to cool. When cooled, drain off any excess pan juices and stir in the egg and cream. Adjust seasonings as needed.
• To assemble, roll the reserved dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Line the pan(s) with the pastry and form even edges. Refrigerate another 10 minutes, then line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove the paper and weights and bake another 15 to 20 minutes to brown the bottom. Allow to cool slightly before filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Fill the pastry crust with the onion mixture and bake until golden brown and the filling is set, about 35 minutes.