It’s hard to think of things to write about something you cooked awhile ago–a moment of honesty while I get my gears turning here. 13-2: Onion Tart is a great vegetarian (with a modification or two) option that satisfies everyone for any meal of the day. It’s not super exciting (which explains my inability to think of anything particularly interesting to say about it), but it’s definitely a pretty good fallback option if you’re in need of an easy, crowd-pleasing, inoffensive, yet impressive recipe.
Simply Delicious notes that this recipe is French and that this version comes from the Alsace region of the country. I found a few other takes on that version scattered around the Internet, but give or take some bacon and Gruyère cheese, they’re all relatively similar to this one. 🍷
I’m just excited for another recipe where I can use my tart pan.
Ingredients. This recipe calls for Parmesan instead of the more commonly used Gruyère for something like this, but that seems to be a trend throughout the book–maybe due to lack of availability or knowledge of it?
Something else to note: Parmesan cheese (the good stuff, not the powdery stuff in the green can) is very commonly NOT vegetarian, since it typically uses rennet. There ARE vegetarian Parmesan options out there, but you’ll have to specifically look for them. If you’re making this “vegetarian” dish for real vegetarians, keep that in mind.
If available, I like to use my food processor to make pie/tart crust dough. It provides a consistent product quickly, which is imperative for keeping it flaky as the “Tips” section somewhat alludes too–being cold is key and you don’t want your butter to melt too much. If it melts too much, the dough won’t form those nice pockets of air when it bakes, which is what makes it flaky.
When it forms into a ball and sticks to your blade/lifts off the sides of the bowl, it’s ready.
Sliced a lot of onions, which is the same process as chopping but with one less series of cuts.
I used the big 12″ skillet to sauté all of these onions–you don’t want the pan too crowded.
I probably let them get browner than they intended (which will lead to my tart being darker than theirs in the end), but I think they taste better when they’re browner.
Three eggs along with some sparse seasonings. Note that this recipe doesn’t use cream (which most of the above-linked recipes do) or a particularly creamy cheese, which is probably a calorie/fat-cutting move. Unfortunately, you also lose a lot of flavor/taste when you cut all of that cream & fat.
If you want to add cream, I’d suggest about 1-1.5 cups (depending on what kind of pan you’re baking in). Adjust your baking time accordingly (probably 375º for 25-30 minutes, if you’re pre-baking your shell, experiment with their times if you’re not).
Oh, and if you’re at that point if you’re adding cream? It’s essentially a quiche now, so feel free to add ham, bacon, other veggies, whatever.
My (inappropriately shaved and not grated) Parmesan cheese added on top. If you want a more authentic cheese, use a Gruyère or something similar.
There’s something satisfying about pressing a dough out into a pan.
This recipe doesn’t pre-bake the crust, but if you choose to, reduce your heat and time for the second part with the filling. My filling is already darker than theirs (remember I cooked my onions much longer), so don’t expect this to look quite as “blonde”.
After baking (and PERFECTLY popping out of the pan). It’s darker, but I think it looks more savory and appetizing this way.
Here’s a slice for you. It was a nice meal, and would be a great dish to take to a party or give as a gift. If you have a vegetarian guest (and you’ve used vegetarian Parmesan), this could be a nice dish to serve that everyone will enjoy. If you’re feeling decadent, try some of those fancier versions linked at the top after this one.
Grade: A-
