The Perfect Onion Tart
Onion Tart can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The best time of the day I enjoy eating Onion Tart is lunch.
The reason is that it is simple enough to eat with a side of salad. Just so you know before I go on, this dish is also called French Tarte a l’oignon, and my recipe uses prosciutto, and sometimes I also add ham. The saltiness of the prosciutto compliments the flavor of the onions.
The effect of French Cuisine
French cuisine has had a large influence on the French Caribbean-speaking islands. There are many recipes that still carry the french name and the difference may be a few ingredients. The recipes vary from pies, quiches, and even cake.
One particular dish, the Coq au Vin is a popular dish to serve on Sundays.
How to make le Tarte a l’oignon, or Onion Tart
As delicious Onion Tart or Quiche is, it can also be time-consuming if using homemade dough. To shorten the time for preparing a pre-made pie shell or tin shell can be bought in advance and must be baked slightly before pouring the mixture. As this may be the easiest and quickest way to make this recipe, there is nothing better than preparing your own dough. That may sound really strange for the people who know me.
I dislike creating my own dough as it involves quite a bit of exercise. I prefer store-bought dough because the work is done and all I have to do is bake my pie or tart.
The best way to make sure you succeed at this dish is to buy a good store-bought pre-made pie shell.
Choosing the right cheese
The taste of Swiss cheese is a bit mild but still delicious. It is better to use because of the saltiness of the ham or prosciutto. If using cheese with a strong flavor reduce the ham content. When thyme and basil are cooked with onions, they really compliment each other and the aroma is splendid.
Make this recipe today to avoid eating a boring lunch. Add a salad to complete the meal.
Enjoy!
Onion Tart
Ingredients
- 4 onions finely sliced (about 4 cups needed)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup Swiss cheese grated
- 6 ounces of prosciutto or regular ham sliced
- 2 teaspoon thyme leaves only
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 eggs beaten
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 – 9 inch prepared pie shell Frozen store-bought pie shell
To make enough to line a 9 inch tin or pie dish use:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ ounces chopped chilled unsalted butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 – 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl. In a food processor preferably, add flour and the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and water gradually to form dough. Press, don’t knead, the dough together into a ball – handle gently. Wrap in a plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit.
To make the filling:
- In a large frying pan, melt butter and add onions and let cook on low heat for about 20 – 25 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add brown sugar and continue to cook over low heat about 15 minutes while stirring to prevent burning. Turn off heat and set aside.
- With a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Always roll from the center outwards, rotating the dough than rolling backwards and forwards. (Roll out to make the shape of the dish.) Roll the pastry back over the rolling pin so it is hanging, and ease it into the tin or pie dish.
- Gently press dough inside tin or dish, gently press the sides of the dough with your thumbs to flatten and lift it a little and cut any excess dough. Line the shell with baking paper. Pour some baking beads, dried beads or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove beads or beans and paper and bake again for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs and stir in heavy cream. Add prosciutto or ham, thyme, basil, and cheese and continue stirring to mix. Add onions mixture and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste only. Pour mixture onto tin shell or pie dish and bake on middle rack in the oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and fully baked. (If tin shell or piecrust is browning too fast, cover sides with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
- Serve warm or cold with a green salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
