If you’re looking to cook something delicious at weekend, why not make French recipe to celebrate Bastille Day?
Let’s celebrate with this glorious savory sweet toffee-topped French treat, best served with a glass of crispy-white. You could make this quick and easy tart using the apples, pears or plums. But the savory version with onion is my fave. Caramelised onions, goat’s cheese and slightly bitter radicchio, such a great combination, which will turn your taste buds upside-down!
Let’s start!
The most important thing in this recipe is to use the best ingredients that you can find:
- Fresh and nice onion. But not too juicy, otherwise caramel will turn too runny.
- Thick and syrupy balsamic vinegar. I use 8-year-old balsamic, which I order online on Aceto Downunder. Just a few drops of this magic product lift up the taste of any dish.
- Buttery puff pastry. Crispy, light and delicate layers of delicious buttery pastry are suitable for both sweet and savory baking. Unfortunately, most of the puff pastry on the market made using palm oil margarine. This is vegan version but It’s not so tasty and not the best for your health. Margarine made from refined, bleached, and deodorized palm oil. It does not have any health benefits.
- Chèvre cheese. A tangy and creamy goat’s milk cheese, Chèvre is naturally lower in fat and has a rich, earthy flavor that recalls the grasslands of France’s rural region. You can also find an absolutely delicious alternative exploring local NZ market.
- Radicchio leaves. Radicchio is a bitter leaf but is extra special when balanced with contrasting flavours. The bitter radicchio responds well to the sticky-sweet acidity of the good balsamic vinegar.
Ingredients
2-3 Serves (20 cm diameter)
- 1 sheet butter puff pastry
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 7 small size onions
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
- pinch of salt
- plain flour for dusting
To serve:
- Chèvre cheese
- radicchio leaves
- toasted walnuts
Directions
- On a lightly floured surface cut the puff pastry a 20cm circle, using a plate as a guide. Lightly prick all over with a fork, wrap in cling film on a baking sheet and chill while preparing the onions.
- Heat oven to 180C. Peel onions, and cut crosswise into halves. Put the sugar in a 20cm ovenproof heavy-based frying pan and place over a low heat. Don’t stir the sugar in beginning stages until bottom layer begins to melt. Cook the sugar until it is melted and dark amber color. This takes some time (about 20 minutes) because if you do it too quickly the sugar will burn. Turn off the heat. Just please remember never ever to touch or taste hot caramel, as it can burn really badly.
- Arrange the onion halves very tightly in a circle around the edge of the dish first, cut-side down, then fill in the middle in a similar fashion. Gently press with your hands to ensure there are no gaps. Drizzle the onions with balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with thyme leaves. Add the cubed butter, then lay the pastry over the top.
- Bake the tarte Tatin for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden. Take it out of the oven. Allow to cool to room temperature for about 30 min before running a knife around the edge of the dish and inverting it onto a large serving plate that is deep enough to contain the juices. Serve with Chèvre cheese and radicchio leaves and toasted walnuts.
