Onion tartlets

Two people I hold very dear will be turning away at the blog upon seeing this recipe: my brother JP and my good friend C. - they hate onions with every fiber of their beings! :D

I’m not a fan of raw onions, but love them cooked or roasted. In these tartlets the onion slices are cooked in butter for a good while and after being mixed with the other filling ingredients and baked they became really soft, almost sweet.

The dough shrunk in the oven, resulting in smaller tart cases – because of that, there wasn’t much room for the filling, causing it to leak (I used loose-bottomed pans). The great flavor made me forget all the trouble. :D

Onion tartlets
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Tarte:
250g plain flour
125g cold unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Onion filling:
60g unsalted butter
600g (about 2 large) onions, cut in half then thinly sliced
3 eggs, beaten
200ml crème fraîche*
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start with the dough: process flour, butter and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg, then while pulsing gradually add 2-3 tablespoons iced water until pastry forms into a ball. Transfer to a floured surface, knead for 30 seconds, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Roll out pastry to 5mm thick on a floured surface, cut out four 16cm-diameter rounds and use to line four 12cm-diameter tart pans, trimming excess pastry with a knife. Prick dough with a fork and place pans in freezer for 10 minutes, then bake for 12 minutes or until golden. Set aside until ready to use.
For onion filling, melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until softened but not brown. Transfer to a bowl and cool. Whisk eggs, crème fraîche and nutmeg together and season with salt and black pepper. Add to onions and combine well. Divide filling among tart pans and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or cold.

* I’ve never seen crème fraîche around here, so I added lime juice to heavy (whipping) cream and set aside, in room temperature, until thick

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe and got six 9cm tartlets