This Caramelised Onion Tart with Thyme is a delicious dinner or lunch idea. It keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge (if it lasts that long). The pastry is crisp and light and the filling sweet and tasty. The tofu topping seemed like a strange idea to me but it worked – it baked like a crust and really balanced out the onion flavour. This tart reminded me of french onion soup, so yum!
“One day I am going to make the onions cry!” unknown
Caramelised Onion Tart
Serves 10
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium brown onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
130g silken tofu
2/3 cup soya cream (if you can’t find it, just use about a tablespoon of almond milk)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Pastry:
1 & 1/4 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
5 tablespoons vegan spread
1/4 cup walnuts or hazelnuts (finely chopped)
What do I do now?
Pastry first! Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius and prepare a quiche tin or similar.
Rub the vegan spread into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the walnuts and add enough water to form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Wrap in glad wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions. The key here is keep the heat very low and cook the onions very very slowly until they caramelise. DO NOT rush this step! It will take 20 minutes or more.Keep stirring all the time. When they are clear and soft add the thyme and seasoning and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
Blend the tofu, soya cream (almond milk) and mustard in a food processor / blender until smooth and creamy.
Roll your pastry on a lightly floured surface and gently lift into your tin. Trim the top and back in the fridge for 20 minutes. Prick the pastry with a fork, line with greaseproof paper and baking beans / rice and blind bake for 10 minutes until golden. Remove the paper and beans / rice and spoon the onion mix into the pastry case. Pour the tofu mix over the top and smooth with a knife.
Bake for 30 minutes until set and golden.
Anything else I should know?
There is a bit of time involved in this one – you can prepare the pastry in advance to save time.
This is worth every minute – delicious, warming tart for a winter’s evening. I ate this over 3 days and it was still so tasty on day three – the pastry kept really well.
Serve this with a garden salad or some new potatoes and green beans.
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