Monday, January 2, 2012

Kitchen Diary 2012 – Caramelized Onions, and a Savory Tart


Caramelized Onions

The reason we made caramelized onions was because we wanted to try our homemade PUFF PASTRY in a savory tart. Our friend said “caramelized onions and gruyere”. After making the caramelized onions we wondered why we don’t make them all the time. They are cheap, easy, and insanely delicious: slice up an onion, toss it in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle over some salt and a pinch of sugar, turn the heat to medium-low, and let heat and time work their wonder. A splash of cognac at the end is acceptable, as are dashes of cayenne pepper and ground black pepper.


This, of course, leads us to our next recipe.

Savory Tart with Caramelized Onions, Bacon, and Gruyere.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out PUFF PASTRY (homemade, obvs) into an even rectangle, about ¼-inch thick. Then: bring out the knife. Make those edges square. Now, go in about a quarter inch and run the knife along the inside border – making a windowpane. Don’t cut all the way through. Pound a fork all over the inside. Bake until golden, about 10-15 minutes. Take out of the oven and gently press down on the raised inside part. Strew caramelized onions, a few chopped Kalamata olives, some crisp bacon, and grated gruyere. Pop the business back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Check the bottom crust to make sure it’s golden. Cool slightly. Enjoy
Any leftover onions can be kept in the fridge for about a week.

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