My au pair job entails that I cook for the French family I live with. It’s not something I talk about often on this blog, but cooking is a huge part of my life here and is one of my daily joys (and stresses, ha). So I wanted to teach you how to make a French onion tart, or tarte aux onions. It’s a simple tart that tastes just like French onion soup… yum!
Hint- though I didn’t use them, this recipe is even more delicious with lardons, a.k.a. bacon.
Ingredients:
4 small yellow onions (around 400g)
1 pie crust (pâte brisée or short-crust pastry)
Grated gruyère (about a 1/2 cup)
salt and pepper
Béchamel sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup of milk (120 mL)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
My favorite brand of pre-made crust in France.
Béchamel sauce.
A béchamel is a white, flour-based sauce that is in tons of French dishes- it’s always the same procedure so here are the basic steps.
1. Put butter and flour in small pot over medium heat.
2. Stir with a wooden spoon until they’re combined.
3. Whisk in milk until there are no lumps.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
Now for the onions.
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celcius).
2. Peel and chop the onions. And your knife cuts don’t have to be perfect! Lord knows mine aren’t.
3. Put the pie crust inside of a tart pan with the wax paper that comes with the pre-made crust underneath (or just use regular wax paper if you made your own crust).
4. Take a fork and poke holes in the bottom of the crust.
5. Then start sauteeing the chopped onions in a sauce-pan over medium heat with a generous knob of butter (a noisette in French, about 2-3 tablespoons). Sautee until they caramelize, about 30 minutes.
This is the step where I’m always tempted to just put them in the tart… but they’re not done yet.
Now they’re done.
6. So add the bechamel to the onions… (You may not need all of it, just put enough to cover the onions.)
7. Then carefully pour the mixture into the crust.
8. Then sprinkle grated gruyere on top.
9. Put the tart in the pre-heated oven. And bake it until it looks like this!
Just kidding. This is the one that Julia accidentally burned when pre-heating the oven to make cookies. This one’s better.
10. Voila, it’s done! Now eat, enjoy and impress all of the French people you know! It’s best served with a simple butter lettuce salad with a light vinaigrette in my humble opinion.
*This recipe is adapted from the classic recipe of the wonderful French home-cook, Françoise Bernard.
So, your turn. Which French dishes do you love to cook?
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this is a bit like a quiche, a bit like a Flammkuchen from Alsace. What I recently cooked is more on the sweet side and is called “tarte Tatin”!
coolnewz recently posted..Photo Friday: Timișoara – faces
I would love to learn how to make Tarte Tatin, it’s so good! Love Flammkuchen also, I had it in Cologne a few months ago.
From the looks of your photo you are becoming an excellent chef. It looks so good, but lots of calories, correct? Oh well, almost all good food is fattening. Just have have to eat smaller portions
Love, Gamma
Thanks, Gamma! It’s actually a very light dinner if you just have a small slice with some salad… that’s what we do in France anyway. Love, Ashley
We have something similar in German called zweibelkuchen (onion cake) and I LOVE it but I might add this looks possibly better – I’ve gotta try it! And pinning…
Alex @ ifs ands & butts recently posted..win $150 to target.
I love German food so I’m such I’d love it too! Try the French version on your room-mates though, I’m sure they’ll love it :)
Love recipe posts, that looks delicious! I love french onion soup, totally bookmarking this!
Liz recently posted..Stop Overlooking La Rioja, Spain!
I love French onion soup as well, and both are perfect for a chilly night!
Oh my goodness that sounds delicious! I just bought a bag of onions so I’m totally gonna make this!
Aryn recently posted..Weekly Wonder: No Kangaroos in Austria
Definitely do! It’s so simple yet delicious.
This looks AMAZING. Savory and creamy. And, bacon. So duh I am making this this week! Thank you!!!!!!
Trevor Huxham recently posted..Bilbao, Spain: Where the Modern Art Museum IS Art
Ummmm YUM. Def going to make this over the weekend :)
I’m so glad that you read my blog!! And yes, definitely do, it’s so good!
Great recipe – thanks Ashley! I’ve pinned it to my ‘tasty for my mouth’ board on Pinterest
jen recently posted..A French Farewell to my Bermondsey Crew
You’re going to love it, it tastes so good! :)