Onion Tarte Tatin
Sweet caramelized onions under crisp buttery pastry, flipped upside down so the glossy, sticky onions become the top. The sugar and balsamic create a dark, savoury-sweet glaze. Brilliant with a green salad and a glass of red wine!
Ingredients
For the caramelized onions
- 1 kg onions yellow, red, or sweet
- 40 gr unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 50 ml balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar
- few sprigs thyme
- 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry
- salt and black pepper
Equipment
- plate larger than your pan
Instructions
1. Caramelise the onions
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Melt the butter with the sugar in the skillet over medium heat. Lay the onions in cut-side down, packed snugly. Cook undisturbed for 12 to 15 minutes, until deeply golden underneath.
2. Deglaze and season
- Add the vinegar and thyme and let it bubble and reduce for a minute. Season well with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and let the pan cool for a minute.
3. Top with pastry
- Lay the puff pastry over the onions, tucking the edges down inside the pan around them. Prick a few times with a fork.
4. Bake
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed, deep golden and crisp.
4. Flip
- Let it rest for 5 minutes. Wearing dry, grippy oven mitts, place a board or large plate over the pan, hold firmly, and flip in one decisive motion. Lift the pan off. Replace any onions that stuck.
5. Serve
- Scatter over crumbled cheese or extra thyme if you like. Serve warm, cut into wedges, with a green salad.
Notes
- Get proper colour on the onions before topping with pastry. Pale onions make a pale tart.
- Let the pan cool a minute before the pastry, so the butter in it doesn't start melting.
- Flip with confidence: dry grippy mitts, board held tight, one decisive motion. The pan and caramel are very hot.
- Don't skip the vinegar. It balances the sweetness of the caramelised onions.
- Best warm. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven; don't microwave, or the pastry goes soft.