The most requested recipe from our guests is my caramelised onion tart. The key to this tart is patience. It takes nearly an hour for the onions to sweat down and caramelise but it’s this that gives the tart its sweet flavour so take your time. This is my own recipe that I have adapted over time. It freezes brilliantly and is great for a light lunch served alongside a simply dressed green salad.
You could make it lower fat by using less butter and half fat cream but to be honest, it’s this that makes it so good so I suggest you go the whole hog and just eat a small slice if you’re trying to be good.
You will need:
- A pre-cooked pastry base (see my previous post here which gives the recipe I use for my savoury tarts and pies)
- Onions – In this recipe I used 5 large white ones and 4 small red ones
- A large piece of butter (around 50g)
- A sprinkle of sea salt and ground black pepper
- 10fl oz of cream (295ml)
- One egg and 2 egg yolks
- 30g grated parmesan
Start by chopping your onions finely
Start by chopping your onions finely. Add your chunk of butter to a pan (preferably one that doesn’t stick) and allow it to melt. Add your onions and a large pinch of sea salt (this helps the onions release their liquid).
Have the pan on a low heat and stir the onions from time to time to make sure they don’t stick to the pan. You can pop in and out of the kitchen for the first 20 minutes but be careful not to get too distracted (I speak from experience here!). As time goes on they will break down, go soft and eventually caramelise. I took pictures every 15 minutes or so to show you the various stages before they reach the right point.
Put the onions in the pan when the butter has melted
After 10 minutes
After 25 minutes
After 40 minutes
After 55 minutes
After 40 minutes or a little before you really need to keep an eye to make sure the onions don’t stick and burn. A little browning at the edges is great but don’t let the heat get too high as you’ll get a bitter flavour rather than a sweet one.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F).
Leave the onions to cool. While the onions are cooling beat the cream, whole egg and egg yolks together in a jug. Add half the grated parmesan (15g) and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Then pour into the cooled onions and mix well.
Pour your egg, cream and parmesan mixture into the cooled onions and mix well
Pour the mixture carefully into your pre-cooked pastry base, sprinkle over the remainder of the parmesan and then pop into the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until golden.
Pop the tart into the oven and cook until golden (around 20 to 30 minutes)
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before serving. It’s lovely warm served alongside a green salad.
If you want to freeze it (and it freezes like a dream), take it out of the oven before it’s too brown and allow to cool before popping in the freezer. When you want to serve it, allow it to defrost completely before popping it back into the oven for about 15 minutes to heat through at 180° (356°F).
Et voila! Creamy caramelised onion tart.
