This Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Tart is a perfect holiday appetizer. Watch it disappear in a flash!
This delicious caramelized onion blue cheese tart makes a great holiday appetizer. Cut it into bite-sized squares for those December potlucks we get invited to over the holidays and they’re sure to be a big hit. Combined with a nice glass of red or white wine (or even champagne!) and you’re in heaven!
According to Bon Appétit, there are some common mistakes we need to avoid when making caramelized onions:
Slicing Them Too Thinly
Thinly sliced onions burn faster. Slice the onions 1/8″ thick, this will prevent them drying out.
Using butter only
It’s recommended to use a mix of butter and olive oil because butter alone has a tendency to burn.
Crowding the pan
If you do, the onions will steam, eventually caramelizing but the process will take longer.
Not deglazing
Deglaze at the end with some white wine or even water, and grab all those flavors stuck to the bottom of the pan.
One last thing: the crust in this recipe is especially good. You could use store-bought puff pastry for the crust, but I strongly suggest you make it from scratch even if making pastry makes you nervous. This recipe is really simple and fast, there is NO kneading involved… you can taste the difference! Easy peasy, I promise!!!
Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese Tart
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Adapted from Epicurious
Serves: About 40 squares
Ingredients
- CRUST
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¾ cup milk (preferably whole milk)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- TOPPING
- 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large onions, halved, thinly sliced (about ⅛ thick)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- TO MAKE THE CRUST
- Preheat your oven to 425⁰F
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt
- In a bowl or in a measuring cup, combine milk, olive oil and butter and whisk to blend.
- Make a well in your dry ingredients then slowly pour your milk mixture into it and stir until combined and smooth. Your crust is almost done!
- Put your dough on a lightly floured counter and roll it into a 10x13-inch rectangle. Transfer dough to a baking sheet. It might shrink a little when you move it, no sweat; just reform it with your hands.
- Pierce it all over with a fork. Leave it aside while you’re making the onions.
- TO MAKE THE TOPPINGS
- Take a large skillet and melt butter and oil over high heat, once the butter starts bubbling, add your onions.
- Cook the onions until soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Stir often.
- Then add the rosemary, sugar and salt and reduce your heat to medium.
- Let them cook for another 20 minutes or so, until very soft and deep dark drown. This step is crucial; you need to be patient, this is where the onions get all their sweetness and flavors. Once you think they are done, add a splash of white wine or water to deglaze the pan, stirring well so the onions absorb all that flavorful liquid. Season with some pepper and let them cool a bit.
- Spread your lovely onion mixture all over your dough and then sprinkle your crumbled cheese.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until your crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Your kitchen will smell amazing at that point!
- Once cooled, cut into squares.
Also try my Herbed Feta Dip!
HERBED FETA DIP. This Herbed Feta Dip is rich and creamy. It is the perfect dip for croutons, vegetables or crispy baked pitas.
I was looking for something great for our Christmas brunch…found it! Thanks Valérie and please continue inspiring us in 2017!
It’s perfect for a brunch! Thank you Marie-Josée for taking the time to write to me and let me know how it turned out!