Onion tart (Pissaladière)

Pissaladière is a French recipe and it is not for the faint hearted. It elevates the humble onion to godly heights and if you are not in love with onions, you will not like this. However, if you are feeling brave, give it a go!

Recipe from 'Paris in a basket: markets, the food and the people', by Nicolle Meyer and Amanda Smith. 

Serves: 8 persons.

Ingredients: 

• For the dough:
• 240g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 11 tbsp cold water
• For the filling:
• 1kg white onions
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 300ml double cream
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a pinch of cinnamon
• salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a bowl mix the flour, salt and olive oil. Don't mix too much.
2. Add the water, a spoon at a time, and work the dough until it has a good consistency. Cover and let it rest for 30 min.
   
   
   
3. Finely chop the onions. I bought extra large onions (Spanish onions) so I had less to peel however, I find the taste wasn't as strong as the last time I cooked a Pissaladière with white onions.
   
   
   
4. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil, add the onions and sweat them for 20 min.
   

   
   
   
5. Butter and flour a tart tin.
   
   
   
6. Stretch the dough on a floured surface and cover the tart. Press the sides and prick the bottom with a fork. At this stage I should have also trimmed the sides. I did not and regretted it later.
   

   

   
   
   
7. Line the pastry case with baking paper and rice and bake blind for 12 min at 200°C. 
   
   
   
8. Remove the baking paper and rice and cook the tart base for a further 5 min.
   
   
   
9. Lower the oven to 180°C.
10. In a bowl, mix the eggs and the cream. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.
    
    
    
11. Add the onions, mix well and add the mixture to the tart base. I was lazy so I actually added the onions to the tart and then poured the mixture on top, making sure all onions were coated.
    
    
    
12. Cook for 30 min.
    
    
    
13. Increase the oven to 200°C and cook for a further 10 min or until the top is golden. It doesn't say whether to keep the tart in or out of the oven whilst the temperature lowers so I removed it from the oven and waited for the thermometer to reach 200°C. I thought I was being quite cleaver but then I left the tart in the oven for a bit to long and it ended up partially burnt!! The sides were carbonised and as I did not trimmed them before, it was quite difficult to trim them now.
    
    
    
14. Remove from the oven, let it cool a bit and then remove from the tart tin and serve hot or cold.