Caramelized Shallot Tart

by di Dec 08, 2014 1 comments

Looking for a starter that will blow the socks off the old prawn cocktail?

This Caramelized Shallot Tart is not only easy to make but is incredibly flavorsome.
It's best eaten warm and is great for a winter's evening alongside a great bottle of wine.

Shallots are the smaller cousin of the regular onion. They generally have a bit of redness to them and they come in all sizes from small to large golf ball size. When cooked they are sweet but when raw they have a bit of heat and to some aren't palatable.
This dish is not onion-y at all due to the long cooking time which brings out the natural sugars. Even onion haters will love it.

I've long been a lover of the onion family and when I find a recipe like this i'll give it a go especially since it can be eaten for lunch or dinner AND I generally always have onions on hand.
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it, it was absolutely amazing and I had difficulty waiting until dinner time to dive in.

The recipe calls for a store bought puff pastry sheet but you can use your own. I used both, store bought for the large and rough puff for the individual, they were both awesome!

For accompaniments, keep it simple, lettuce leaves and sweet tomatoes tossed in a simple oil and vinegar dressing OR you can switch it up a bit adding toasted walnuts and maybe a creamy blue cheese dressing - which I did....there was nothing left on the plates!

Caramelized Shallot Tart

Ingredients:

Recipe for 6 portions

750g Shallots - peeled

75g Butter

20g Sultanas or Golden Raisins

15g Brown Sugar

Thyme - 1 sprig or ½ tsp dried

1 sheet Puff Pastry - ready rolled

Fresh Black Pepper

The Mix:

In a large frying pan melt butter then add onions, stirring to make sure completely coated with butter

Cook onions over a low heat for 30 - 35 minutes, turning regularly but gently so they don't break up

Add raisins, sugar, thyme and a touch of ground black pepper and stir until mixed in

Grease a 24cm tart tin and add onion mixture. Arrange into even layer on bottom of tin

Cover onion mixture with puff pastry and press down around onions. You should be able to see the shape of the onions under the pastry.

Cut away excess pastry then tuck edges down into the edge of the tin - it's ok if there's not a lot of room, you just need the edge flush with the rest of the pastry not above it.

Prick pastry with a fork then place in oven 180c (160c fan assist) for approx. 30 minutes until pastry is a golden brown colour

Remove from oven and run a palate knife around the edge of the pastry to free it from the tin the place an upside down plate over the tin

Using oven gloves or tea towels turn the tin and plate upside down so that the plate is underneath the tin

Carefully life the tin away, scraping and replacing any onions stuck to the bottom of it back onto the tart

Then you're good to go - it's ready to eat - best eaten warm - enjoy!

Drink This:

New Zealand Pinot Noir....Oh Soh yummy!

Comments

by Rosie @Eco-GIte... (not verified) Oct 13, 2015 Permalink

Perfect - I had a great shallot harvest this year and have been looking for a recipe like this. I will give it a go soon.