I recently discovered what happens when you hit hot caramelized onions with a sweet, pungent vinegar and add some fresh herbs. The result is a mouthwatering concoction good for flatbread, layered inside quiche, topping grilled burgers, and many other tasty treats. The onions were the inspiration for this recipe, a rich and flaky puff pastry tart with creamy goat cheese and thyme.
Take care to dust your work surface with flour before rolling out the puff pastry, as it tends to stick and cause your rounds to be misshapen. I typically roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper and use a saucer as a stencil, cutting around it with a sharp knife. The less you handle the pastry, and the colder it is when it goes into the oven, the better.
You could also roast fresh garlic cloves until they’re soft and golden, and sub them for the garlic powder in the goat cheese filling if you have an extra hour for prep. I assembled this batch of tarts early in the day, covered them with a moist paper towel and refrigerated them until baking time. It’s an easy and relatively light lunch dish or dinner with a mixed green salad alongside. Plus, since I was only cooking for two, the leftover filling is waiting in the fridge to be stirred into warm penne for dinner later in the week.
Here’s the recipe:
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2009.