Caramelised red onion tart with Maille

Friday, April 11, 2014







A few weeks back the lovely people at Maille got in touch and asked if I would like to sample two of their products. Being the foodie that I am, I jumped at the chance. They asked me to create an original recipe using their ingredients. Being a massive fan of Italian food and my undying love for balsamic vinegar I knew I had to try their aged blend. Oh boy is it beautiful. You get all these fancy wine drinkers tasting flavours but this vinegar could rival any bottle of red. It is truly beautiful and I can't wait to have it on oven roasted tomatoes and mozzarella salad in the summer. I also asked to try walnut oil. It's something I've never had before but was keen to dry. It's perfect for drizzling over salads (or tarts in this case).

After my Mama had helped me with the garden on Tuesday, we decided that to say thanks we would have her over for dinner and it seemed like the perfect time to cook up something delicious that I knew she would enjoy. So these caramelised red onion tarts were born. They taste so good and they are quite easy to make. They look so much more impressive than they are.

We served ours with roasted baby new potatoes and roasted vegetables. It was truly delicious and these creations are very much on my bake to impress list. 

You will need:

For the pastry
125g plain flour
pinch of salt
55g butter, cubed
2-3 tbsp cold water

For the tart
140g bacon lardons
3 large onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
75g soft cheese
1 large egg, beaten
100g Parmesan, grated
Balsamic vinegar
Walnut oil, to drizzle

To start, make the shortcrust pastry. 

Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter.

Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining.

Using a knife, stir in just enough of the cold water to bind the dough together.

Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 10-15 minutes before using.

Grease your tart cases and line with the pastry. Cover with baking paper, baking beans blind bake until pale golden in colour.

 For the tart. 

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas 6

Cook the bacon until crispy. I oven cooked mine but you can fry or grill depending on what you prefer.

In a pan add the olive oil and onions and fry over a very low heat. (It has to be a low heat, too hot and the onions won't caramelise!) This will take around 20 minutes. Add as much balsamic vinegar as you need. I added around 2 tbsp.

In a separate bowl mix together the soft cheese, Parmesan and egg. Season to taste. Add the bacon to the mixture and stir until combined.

Fill the pastry cases with the mixture until almost full.

Add the caramelised onions on top of the cheese and egg mixture.

Bake for around 20 minutes.

Drizzle the tarts with a small amount of oil ( I choose walnut but any oil would be good!) Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables and a big glass of elderflower fizz!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Although these products were sent for my consideration all opinions are my own.
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10 Replies

10 comments

  1. Ooooh these look amazing! I love love love red onion. Beautiful photos too!

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  2. Looks delicious! I'll have to try this out! Great pictures too! Xx

    Vividlondon.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Oh they were so delicious! You should try it :)

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  3. Making this on my next day off! Looks amazing! x

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  4. These look yummy I love balsamic vinegar for sauces with bread and for cooking x

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  5. I could bathe in balsamic vinegar and drink my way out. Which would be weird but worth it.
    These look gorgeous!
    M x Life Outside London

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    1. Oh me too. It's such a beautiful thing!

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