Recipe French Onion Tart

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We have been making this tart for as many years as I dare own up to. Originally, we used to have it with Gruyere cheese, but obviously, I have had to make life dairy-free in recent years. I have included both options. If you need dairy-free, just omit them; don't worry about replacing them. Also, because the onions take a while to cook, I tend to get them cooking before I make the pastry base and cook it, minimising the time that the oven is in use without anything in it.

Ingredients
pastry
150-175g wholemeal plain flour
75g dairy-free margarine (or butter if you prefer)
(50g finely grated Gruyère - optional)
1 egg

Filling
1kg finely sliced brown onions
5 tbsp olive oil
3-8 cloves crushed garlic
generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp sherry or masala wine
2 tbsp tamari
5 eggs, beaten
(125ml double cream - optional)
(75g finely grated Gruyère - optional)
1/4-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet, and fry the onions over a medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, before adding the crushed garlic, nutmeg and half of the black pepper. Carry on cooking until the onions are a deep golden brown. Ensure that the onions and garlic do not catch, adding more olive oil if needed. Just before the onions are done, add the tamari and sherry/masala wine and take off the heat and cover until needed.
2. In the meantime, make the pastry base by mixing flour and dairy-free margarine to form breadcrumbs, then add the beaten egg. I needed extra flour at this point because I was not using grated cheese. Chill the pastry for 10 minutes in the freezer.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (or 180 °C for fan-assist). Roll out the pastry, grease your tart plate, and line it with the pastry. Prick the base generously with a fork, then bake blind for 10 minutes and uncovered for 5 minutes.
4. If you are using double cream, beat it into the eggs, add the extra black pepper, and half of the Gruyère. If you are not using double cream, then just beat the eggs with the black pepper. This is where I find it easier to add the eggs in small quantities to the fried onions, mixing them in well before adding them to the tart. I find that it helps prevent a solid layer of fried onions and distributes the mixture much more evenly. Depending on the depth of your flan dish, you may have some onion mixture left over, so bear this in mind.
5. Pour the egg and onion mixture into the prebaked pastry case (add the remaining Gruyère if using) and cook for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The New Crank's Recipe Book, Nadine Abensur.

 

[Barriehie]

Bookmarked, thank you.