Tomato Tart with Caramelized Onions
YIELD
Makes 4-6 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (9-inch) prepared pie dough, thawed if frozen (not pie shells)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onion (i use Vidalia) , very thinly sliced or use mandolin
- 3 oz. goat, feta or garlic & herb boursin cheese
- 1 lb. plum, Roma or any tomato, thinly sliced crosswise no more than 1/4 inch thick, drained (optional)
- Garnish: fresh basil leaves, chopped oregano, chives, go wild.
Special Equipment
a 9-inch round, square, rectangular or even 4″-5″ individual tart pans with a removable bottom; pie weights or raw rice
PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- If I am making this to eat cold or slightly heated the next day I get some of the moisture out of my tomatoes. Plum or Roma holds up best but any tomatoes and even halved cherry can be used here. I slice the tomatoes and put on a sheet pan lined with paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt. I think doing this keeps the tart from getting soggy if you are not serving it right away and it will be stored in the fridge. But this is an optional step.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat to start and add onions. When they start to get soft turn down the heat to low or simmer. Cook onion with salt and black pepper to taste, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 30 minutes or longer to get great caramelization. If they start to burn or dry out add some water to the pan and stir often with wooden spoon or tongs.
- If necessary, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into your removable bottom tart pan of choice 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 parchment paper 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. Depending on your oven you may want to use a pie crust protector so the edges do not burn especially with the broil step. Then cool in pan on a rack.
- Preheat broiler.
- When crust is cool, spread onion over bottom of tart shell and top with 1 rounded cup goat, feta or garlic & herb boursin 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 or crust protector to cover 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
NOTES: You can blind bake your own dough here but store-bought is great in a pinch. You can used more or less ingredients as you like, for instance more or less onions & cheese. Certain cheeses are stronger than others so eyeball the amounts. You can add lots of different variations to this tart like addition of some Kalamata olives, pine nuts with a feta cheese to make it more greek. I make this often a day ahead for lunch and serve it with a nice leafy green salad with cucumbers and radishes. You can choose to reheat or serve at room temp. I slice the tart into servings before I heat up but you can certainly do that day you are going to serve it.
