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Onion Tart with Mustard & Fennel

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | August 7, 2011 8 Comments

Last updated on April 11th, 2012

“CLICK…CHOMP.” These were the sounds I made yesterday, while photographing one spectacular onion tart. Who can blame me for eating while working? The onions, which came from my garden, were sweetly-caramelized, and fragrantly-infused with fennel. Even the crust was delightful, for it had just the right amount of crunch. You can make this bit of poetry, too:

To make life easier, you can caramelize the onions a day or two in advance. You can even prepare the crust a day in advance. I let the slicing attachment of my food processor do the onion-slicing.

Onion Tart with Mustard and Fennel

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-ounce package)

1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F)

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 large egg

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

3 pound yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon [or more] Dijon mustard

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

Put 1 1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl, then make a well in center of flour and add yeast mixture to well. Stir together egg, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt with a fork. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or your fingertips, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead, working in additional flour (up to 1/4 cup) as necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While dough rises, heat remaining 1/3 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté fennel seeds until a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Stir in onions, remaining teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover onions directly with a round of parchment paper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Knead dough gently on a floured surface with floured hands to deflate. Pat out dough on a large heavy baking sheet (preferably blue steel) into a 15- by 12-inch rectangle, turning up or crimping edge, then brush mustard evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Spread onions evenly over mustard, then sprinkle evenly with cheese.

Bake tart until crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares or diamonds and serve warm or at room temperature.

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Comments

  1. 1

    Adele says

    August 7, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    Looks and sounds wonderful! I love caramelized onions, and that tiny pinch of sugar must have made them extra sweet. Thinking I'll make this for a Labor Day party.

    Just curious – did you use your home-grown onions for the tart?

  2. 2

    Pepi Noble says

    August 7, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    Another winning recipe. I used your rhubarb crisp recipe to make a peach and blueberry crisp – yum

  3. 3

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    August 7, 2011 at 4:46 pm

    Adele – Yes, my home-grown onions were the inspiration for this tart.

    Pepi Noble – Oooh, both sound delicious!

  4. 4

    LANA says

    August 7, 2011 at 11:42 pm

    I'm printing out this one to try. Looks absolutely delish!

  5. 5

    The Japanese Redneck says

    August 8, 2011 at 6:37 pm

    I've really been on a caramelized onion kick lately. This looks amazing!

  6. 6

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    August 8, 2011 at 9:06 pm

    Lana – it is SO delish!

    The Japanese Redneck – I'm on the same caramelized-onion-kick as you, especially since I have about 260 homegrown onions to play with.

  7. 7

    karen says

    April 10, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    I made this tonight. I used a Polish Mustard which is mustard with a little horseradish. I used frozen bread that I had and it was fabulous…thank you

  8. 8

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    April 11, 2012 at 10:57 am

    Karen – Oh, this must have been wonderful with the mustard-horseradish combo. I’m swooning!

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