Onion Tart

It seems strange that the first recipe I would try from my new book, The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts, would be a savory dish, but there you have it. A delicious savory dish, though, and one that I've already made twice.

But really, it's about as sweet as savory goes. There's the sweetness of the caramelized onions, the slightly different sweetness of the tomatoes (which I know I should not be buying in Vermont in December), both set off by the tangy saltiness of the cheese and the buttery goodness of the walnuts and the pastry.

Onion Tart

adapted from The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts

• 1 cup pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. (6 1/3 Tbs.) butter, cold
• 2-3 Tbs. water, very cold
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• 2-3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 2 large, ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
• generous handful walnut pieces, broken
• salt and pepper to taste

• For the pastry: Combine flour and salt. Cut butter into pieces and drop into flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the butter into flour until butter is well incorporated, but there are still visible pieces of butter. (Recipes often say, 'until mixture resembles small peas or coarse meal.') Using a fork, stir in water one tablespoon at a time, being careful not to add too much. When dough begins to from clumps, enough water has been added. Form the dough into a ball. The dough might be somewhat crumbly, but as long as you can make it into a ball it will be alright. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least half an hour before rolling.
• Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and stir to coat with butter. Allow to cook very gently, stirring occasionally, until onions have caramelized, anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour. Don't try to hurry the process. When onions are golden, remove from pan, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out your dough and use it to line an 8 or 9-inch tart pan. Spread the cooled onions on the bottom of the tart shell all the way to the sides. Fold the edges of the pastry over the onions, creating a border. Place slices of tomato over the exposed onions and slightly overlapping the pastry border. Arrange most of the cheese on top of the tomatoes, then the walnuts, then the rest of the cheese.
• Bake anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on the type of pan used. A metal tart ring will require less cooking time than the ceramic dish I used. Serve warm or at room temperature, but not hot, hot.

Accompany with soup or salad. Delicious the next day topped with an over-easy egg.

I think this could make beautiful single serving tartlets, with just one slice of tomato on the top and a nice mound of cheese and walnuts (or maybe pecans next time). It seems a third go at onion tart is definitely in the cards for me.

More Peaches, More Pastry

I went to a friend's house for dinner last night, which gave me an opportunity to make another peach tart. As I said in my last post, I wanted to try something with a custard and once again Paula Peck came through with a recipe. Hers is a Sour Cream Custard Cherry Tart. Mine was a Crème Fraîche Custard Peach Tart. But it's the same idea: fruit arranged in a tart shell covered with silky, rich custard.

I used crème fraîche because what else would you use with a quart of the finest cream in your refrigerator door and the wherewithal to culture it, but feel free to use store-bought or sour cream or I'm sure it would be delish with mascarpone.

Paula doesn't bake the tart shell blind and neither did I, but next time I might. It seems when you put something as moist as custard in a tart shell, you should do what you can to ensure a crisp crust. Although it's hard to judge, because in the 95% humidity of last night anything would have gone soft regardless of precautions taken.

Despite the atmospheric conditions, the tart was a success and it was all I could do to keep myself from having the leftovers for breakfast.

Crème Fraîche Custard Peach Tart

adapted from Paula Peck's The Art of Fine Baking

• 1 recipe rich tart pastry
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup crème fraîche
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups peach quarters (6-8 small peaches)

• To make 2 cups crème fraîche: heat 2 cups heavy cream (not ultrapasteurized, preferably raw) to 165°F. (I started heating the cream to this point after several instances of a bacteria other than the one I introduced to my cream culturing, resulting in effervescent crème fraîche.) Allow the cream to cool to room temperature and stir in 2 tsp. yoghurt. Cover and leave in a warmish place 16-24 hours, depending on the level of tartness you wish to achieve. Resist any temptation to check on it as the bacteria do not like to be disturbed while they do their thing.
• Line a 9-inch tart pan with pastry and chill in the freezer for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bring a pot of water to the boil. Fill a bowl with cold water and set near the stove. Drop the peaches into the boiling water for 10-15 seconds and then transfer to the cold water with a slotted spoon. This makes both the skins and stones easier to remove. Once all the peaches have been blanched, peel them and split them in half to remove their stones. Cut small peaches into quarters; larger peaches can be sliced into more pieces.
• Whisk together eggs and sugar until well combined. Add crème fraîche and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
• Arrange peach slices attractively in tart shell then pour the custard mixture through a sieve over the fruit.
• Bake about 45 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven, or until crust has browned and custard has set at the edges, but is still slightly jiggly at the center. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Try using cherries or apricots or berries.

Peaches and Pastry

The same day I went blueberry picking, I also picked peaches. The peaches I picked that day are long gone--made into a plum sponge pudding (the recipe for which I will share with you one day) and devoured with vanilla ice cream--but the farm I went to started delivering to the co-op so I picked up a few more peaches Wednesday night. I have been wanting to make a fruit tart all summer and while berries are all well and good, when I saw the peaches I thought, "Peaches."

Somehow between going to the dentist this morning and going to work this afternoon, I managed to fit in my first peach tart trial. As usual, I read several recipes before jumping in and many of them--including Julia Child's, Paula Peck's, and one from this ancient Provençal book my sister gave me--put a layer of ground nuts between the crust and the fruit. Paula Peck adds cinnamon to the nuts and I followed her example. It is my guess that the nut layer acts as a barrier between the fruit and the crust, preventing the crust from becoming too soggy on the bottom. It is also delicious.

I was never quite sure why everybody insists on brushing fruit tarts with an apricot or currant glaze when they come out of the oven, but today I learned why. When my tarts came out of the oven the peaches, shiny and lovely when they went in, were lackluster; dull. The glaze restored their shine, their sheen, their peachy keen.

The real star, though, was the pastry. When making tarts, I usually just make a recipe of my go-to pie crust, but today I didn't. The recipe said, "rich tart pastry (230)," so I turned to page 230. The recipe called for 3 hard-cooked egg yolks so I had to try it. I am now completely convinced that hard-cooked egg yolks make the world go 'round. I had a clue after making Claudia Fleming's biscuits (thank you, Deb), which also call for hard-cooked egg yolks, but now I know. I took a bite of tart, an edge piece, and time stopped. My heart, my body, my everything melted as if in sympathetic reaction to what was happening in my mouth. It is a delicate pastry; it is a rich pastry; it is a heavenly pastry.

Rich Tart Pastry

thank you, Paula Peck

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 3 Tbs. sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. lemon zest, grated
• 3 hard-cooked egg yolks
• 2 raw egg yolks

• Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of it and to it add the remaining ingredients, mashing the cooked yolks or passing them through a medium sieve. Using your finger tips, make a paste of the ingredients in the well and gradually incorporate the flour until a smooth, firm ball of dough is formed. Work quickly so the butter does not become oily. Chill the dough until it is firm enough to roll.
• Roll dough between sheets of wax paper. Once you have lined your tart pan(s), chill in the freezer before baking.

Enough for one 9-inch tart with a bit left over.

If you find this pastry is altogether too fragile for your purposes, Paula notes that you can substitute 2 egg whites for the raw egg yolks, which will also make for a crisper crust.

I think I will look around for another tart recipe before I am satisfied--maybe something with a custard--but at least I have found the crust.