Onion Tart

You can’t say that you know your onions until you have cooked a sweet onion tart.

Onions have been cultivated for more than 5000 years and are by far the most commonly used flavouring vegetable, as crucial in Indian and Chinese food as they are in French and other European cuisines.

Virtually all savoury recipes are improved by the addition of onions and I believe it is simply impossible to have too many in a dish.

Cooking onions slowly in a little oil and butter will release their sugars gives you an unexpected sweet savoury flavour. Cook them for longer with a dash of wine or Balsamic vinegar and you get Onion Jam for spreading on sandwiches or for eating with cheese.

If you hate peeling onions placing them in the freezer for ten minutes will allow you to chop without tears.

This classic dish from Alsace works particularly well with a glass of Alsace Riesling Gewurztraminer or Pinot Gris from a good producer such as Trimbach.

Alsace Onion Tart (Zewelewai)

Peel and thinly slice 500g of onions and fry gently in 20g of butter for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and sweet but not browned.

To make the tart base use frozen shortcrust pastry or whiz 200g plain flour with 100g of chilled butter in a food processor for 15 seconds. Add a medium egg and blend until the pastry has formed a ball. Remove, wrap in cling film and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Pre heat the oven to Gas 6, 200C. Line a greased 8-10 inch tart tin with the pastry, prick all over with a fork, cover with tinfoil and weight down with old beans or rice. If you have time chill the base for a further 30 minutes. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, remove the tinfoil and beans/rice and replace in the oven for a further 5 minutes to allow the pastry to dry. Allow to cool until lukewarm.

Line the pie casing with the cooked onions and season with salt and pepper. Beat 300g of crème fraîche with two eggs and pour over the onions. Bake at 200C for 40 minutes.

Serve hot or warm with a green salad.