Double Take: Vidalia Onion Tart

A few years ago, Mel introduced me to a vidalia onion casserole that is awesome. You'll really have to get her to share it with you sometime. This recipe reminds me of it in its caramelized onion and cheese but the two are quite different. This one is a tart and the other is a casserole. This one is herbed and takes on a different flavor from the tangy and mild cheeses but the other recipe has the yummy cheddary goodness. Both are tasty. 


Vidalia Onion Tart slice at right. Pecan rosemary crusted chicken at 7 o'clock. Asparagus at 12 o'clock.
Let's eat!
While the recipe says Vidalia onion, any sweet onion will do nicely. Sweet onions have a short season that is about to end so get this one in the oven while you have the chance!


Vidalia Onion Tart
(Inspired Pink Parsley and Southern Living, May 2009)


Prep Time: 20 minutes (assumes you make your own dough and are a fairly fast onion chopper)
Cook Time: 30 min for onions, 20 minutes for baking
Total time: 75 - 90 minutes
Serves: 4-6


Ingredients:


2 Tablespoons butter
3 to 4 medium-sized Vidalia onions, halved and thinly sliced (about 6 1/2 cups) (I only needed 3)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (other herbs can be subbed)
1-2 cloves garlic, diced * optional
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 recipe pie dough (see below for a simple recipe I use regularly), or 1 refrigerated pie crust
1/2 c. swiss, shredded
1/4 c. asiago, shredded (can sub Parmesan but Asiago will give more of a flavor kick)


How To:


Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and pepper (and sugar, 1 - 2 Tbsp can speed up the onion cooking, if necessary). Stirring occasionally, cook 15 - 20 minutes, or until tender. Reduce heat to low, add rosemary and cover; cook an additional 5-10 minutes, or until onions are browned and caramelized. Stir occasionally while cooking.


Place the dough into a tart or pie pan. I really like my tart pan and enjoy looking for ways to use it.


Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over dough. 


Cheese....Level 1


Top with onions. Sprinkle remaining cheese.


Sprinkling with more cheese.



Bake at 425 F on the bottom rack 17-19 minutes, or until crust is golden-brown and cheese has melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


Finally Done! Let's eat!



I started by making the one crust pie crust I posted previously. For convenience sake, I'm reposting it here too.

Pie Crust (1 crust):

Ingredients:

1 c. flour
½ tsp salt
3 rounded Tbsp Crisco (shortening)
3 Tbsp ice water

How To:

Measure flour and salt into a large bowl. Blend shortening into flour and salt with a pastry blender or fork until it reaches the consistency of heavy cornmeal. Add water 1 tablespoonful at a time, tossing wet and dry ingredients together with blender until all the flour is moistened. Turn out on floured board. Roll into a circle 1/8 to ¼ inch thick and large enough to allow 1 to 1 ½ inches hanging over the edge of the pie tin. Fold up and back to make an upright rim and flute with fingers. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Place another tin the same size over the crust. Bake 12 minutes at 450 F until browned at the bottom. Remove upper tin and allow inside of crust to brown.

This crust can be rolled thinly and make enough for 2 crusts. Some days, though, I'm better off making a double recipe. This was a double recipe sort of day. (Actually, it was more than that but for this pie, it was a double recipe.)

I rolled out the main dough and laid it in the bottom of the pie crust. Then I pinched small bits and made a ring of triangular nubs all around the top of the pie.



Response:


Food is about taste and smell. I like the taste of gruyere but the smell is tough for me to handle. We made and ate the gruyere version (3/4 c. gruyere) but I'm posting the recipe as I'd make it in the future: 1/2 c. swiss and 1/4 c. asiago. If you're a gruyere lover though, go for the gruyere. I found the flavor to be really tasty but the recipe was a bit peppery for my taste so I adapted that to a more reasonable level for future use too. The original recipe called for 4 Vidalia onions but I only needed about 2.5 but chopped 3 b/c I didn't want to have a random bit left over. I like the sweet onions but this is not a dish that I can eat all week. Its a once or twice and I'm done. The leftovers heated well. 




Hop, skip, or jump over to Fabulously Fun Food to see what Mel thought of this recipe! (Don't skip at work though, people might look at you funny. Ahem...Not that I would know.)

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