Onion, Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart
1 (9-inch) prepared pie dough, thawed if frozen (not pie shells)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
6 oz crumbled goat cheese (1 1/3 cups)
1 lb plum tomatoes, thinly sliced crosswise
Garnish: fresh basil leaves
9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; pie weights or raw rice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• If necessary, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round and fit into tart pan.
• Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge.
• Lightly prick bottom and sides with a fork.
• Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights.
• Bake in middle of oven until pastry is pale golden around rim, about 20 minutes.
• Carefully remove weights and foil and bake until golden all over, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• Cool in pan on a rack.
• While tart shell is baking, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat.
• Then cook onion with salt and black pepper to taste, stirring frequently, until golden brown, and 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat broiler.
• Spread onion over bottom of tart shell and top with 1 rounded cup goat cheese.
• Arrange tomatoes, slightly overlapping, in concentric circles over cheese.
• Sprinkle with remaining cheese and salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil.
• Put foil over edge of crust (to prevent over browning).
• Put tart pan on a baking sheet and broil tart about 7 inches from heat until cheese starts to brown slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.
Yield: Serves 4
Onion Tarts
2 pounds yellow onions (3 large or 4 medium), sliced
2 ounces bacon (2 slices), finely diced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
4 7-inch Flaky Pastry Tart Shells
Caramelizing the onions.
• Peel the onions and cut them in half from root to tip.
• Cut out the dense core at the root end and slice the onions 1/4 inch thick, again from root end to tip.
• Cook the bacon, stirring often, in a large (4-quart) saucepan over medium heat until almost crisp.
• Add the onions, sugar, and salt, and cook, stirring often until they cook down by two-thirds, about 10 minutes.
• Add 2 teaspoons vinegar, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook until the onions are an even golden brown and softened to a marmalade consistency, 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the onions.
• Stir often and scrape up any brown bits clinging to the bottom of the pan.
• The onions need almost constant stirring near the end to prevent them from sticking and burning.
• They’ll let you know they need attention by giving off a sizzling sound.
• Stir in the sage.
• Allow them to cool slightly, then taste and season with black pepper and additional salt if needed.
• If the onions seem overly sweet, stir in another teaspoon of vinegar.
• The onions can be caramelized up to 2 days ahead and store covered in the refrigerator.
Filling and baking.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Stir the cream and egg into the caramelized onions until thoroughly combined.
• Divide the filling among the tart shells and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Bake in the upper third of the oven until the filling is set, about 15 minutes.
• The filling should still be soft but not runny.
• Let cool slightly, and then transfer the tarts to a cutting board using a large spatula.
• Cut each into 8 wedges with the downward pressure of a sharp chef’s knife.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.
Variations
• For large tarts, bake 2 10-inch Free-Form Tart Shells.
• Divide the onion mixture between them and bake the tarts until the filling is set in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Using a large spatula, transfer them to a cutting board and cut each into 12 wedges.
Herb Substitutions
• In place of sage, use an equal amount of finely chopped rosemary, marjoram, savory, English thyme, or lemon thyme.
Yield: 2 ½ dozen hors-d’oeuvre-size slices
Short Crust Dough
Yield: 1 pound
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
10 tbs. unsalted butter, diced
4 tbs. ice water
• Using a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour and the salt, and add all of the butter.
• Using your fingertips, rub together the butter and flour or you may use a pastry blender or two knives.
• The mixture will be coarse and grainy.
• Stirring gently with knife or pastry blender sprinkle the water over the mixture one spoonful at a time until the dough begins to stick together.
• Gather it all together into a ball and press it together with your hands.
• Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for two hours before rolling it out.
Rolling out the dough:
• Unwrap the dough and place it on a cool dry, floured surface.
• I keep a marble slab just for this purpose.
• Divide the ball if necessary.
• Rewrap what you will not be using immediately and put it back in the refrigerator. Partially roll it out with your hand using the heel of your hand and then pound it with the rolling pin and then roll it out with a floured rolling pin.
• Roll out from the center and turn it at a 90 degree angle each time after each roll to create a round shape.
• Or a rectangle or oval – depending on the recipe and until it is about ¼ inch thick.
To line a pan:
• Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and life it up and unroll it over a pie pan or tart pan.
• Press the dough firmly against the bottom of the pan and the sides.
• For a pie pan use a small knife to trim the excess dough off the edges.
• Leave a margin about ¼ wide around it.
• For a tart pan roll the pin across the top to crimp it.
To prebake a pastry shell: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper, wax paper or foil slightly larger than the pie or tart pan.
• Press the paper onto the dough-lined pan, and fill the center with dried peas, beans or rice.
• Bake the shell for 10 minutes or until the dough is set.
• Remove the filled paper or foil and lightly prick it al around the base with a fork.
• To partially bake a pastry shell, return the pan to the oven for 5 minutes.
• To fully bake it cook it for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden.
• Cool the pastry in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove it to cool completely before using it.
Food Processor Tart Dough
• You can roll this out and refrigerate if on a baking sheet a few hours before baking.
• If you keep this in the refrigerator take it out 5 minutes before you assemble the tart and have all the filling ingredients ready to go at that point.
½ pound (2 sticks) cold butter
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup ice water
1. Use very cold butter.
2. Cut it into ½ inch cubes.
3. Return the cubes to the refrigerator to prevent them from softening while you get the food processor set up.
4. Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine.
5. Add the butter, and toss it all quickly with a fork to coat each cube with flour but don’t touch the blade.
6. This keeps the butter cubes from sticking together and helps them to break apart and combine evenly with the flour.
7. Pulse it 15 times until the butter pieces are the size of small peas.
8. While the motor is running add the ice water all at once through the feed tube.
9. Process for 10 seconds and stop the machine before it turns into a mass.
10. Turn the contents of the bowl onto a sheet of aluminum foil for pressing any lose particles into the mass of dough.
11. Shape it into an 8 inch disk.
12. Cover it completely with aluminum foil and refrigerate it for 1 hour. It will keep frozen for two weeks.
13. It defrosts on your counter in 45 minutes.
Yield: 1 large to 4 small tarts