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Fall Onion & Bacon Tart
October 21, 2008
Don’t you love fall? When the leaves are turning, it’s blustery and cool, and scarves feel wonderfully cozy. Ah! This Fall Onion & Cheese Tart seems perfect on a cool night: The sweet, soft caramelized onions play against the slight crunch of smoky bacon; the earthy, nutty cheese rounds out the flavors and cracked pepper gives it pop. Add a simple salad, some good crusty bread, and a good Pinot Noir or Syrah – and enjoy life!
Fall Onion & Cheese Tart
Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Filling
3 slices good bacon (Neuske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon is de-lish!)
1 big onion, thinly sliced
Pinch of sugar
1 cup milk or Half & Half (or cream if you’re feeling indulgent!)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Generous pinch of salt
4-5 ounces mountain cheese (use a good full flavored cow’s milk cheese like Spahn, Fontina D’Aosta, or Gruyere), grated
Cut together flour, butter, and salt in a small bowl with a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles an uneven, coarse meal with some pea-sized butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and blend (gently!) until incorporate. Squeeze a little in your fist. If it crumbles, add a little more water, blend in and squeeze again. Repeat if necessary, but don’t work the dough too much or it will be tough. When you’re satisfied, press dough into a disk about five inches across, and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Roll out dough so it will fit in a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press it into the pan and up the sides, and then pierce it with a fork. Freeze 10 minutes. Line it with foil and fill with beans or pie weights and then bake crust 10 minutes. Take out the weights and foil and bake until it’s starting to turn golden, maybe 10-15 minutes more. Pull it out and let it cool while you make the filling.
In a medium skillet, sauté the bacon over medium-low heat until it’s crisp and has rendered its fat. Pull out the bacon and drain on paper towels. Raise the heat to medium and sauté the onion in the drippings with a pinch of sugar until they’re deep golden brown (15-20 minutes). Spread the onions over the bottom of the crust, break bacon into bite-size pieces and sprinkle over onions. Top with grated cheese. Blend together the milk, eggs, salt and pepper, then pour into the crust.
Bake until filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool tart on rack for a few minutes and then remove pan sides. Serve warm or at room temperature.
