An unusual savory tart for a winter day

by Boschek

Onion and Red Wine Tart with Feta Cheese

 

We had seen this recipe in Alfons Schubeck and Annik Wecker’s book, “Raffinierte Tartes – süß und pikant” a number of times, but never got around to trying it until recently. We didn’t have any open port wine so we substituted sherry, which probably changed the flavour somewhat, but was quite good. Many recipes for this tart call for goat cheese, but we prefer it with feta, made from sheep milk. For the picture we put some raw onions on top of the filling, however this isn’t really necessary and some people may have difficulty digesting raw onion. It’s just a matter of taste. We paired this with a dry German Riesling and enjoyed it on a wintry Friday evening.

Recipe – Onion and Red Wine Tart with Feta Cheese

 

Tart form 24 – 26 cm (9 or 10 inch)

Crust

300g (10 oz) puff pastry

Filling
2 red onions (about 200 g or 6 oz).
1 Tbl powder sugar
50 ml red port wine or sherry
150 ml red wine
1 small bay leaf
10 drops of vanilla extract or ¼ vanilla pod
1 tsp honey
salt, pepper
dash of allspice ground
150 g (5 oz) feta cheese
100 g (4 oz) cream
2 eggs
1/8 tsp chili powder or 1 fresh chili  deseeded, deveined and chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme chopped (or 1/8 tsp dried thyme)
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220 °C (430 °F)

Coat form with melted butter or non-stick spray

Roll out the pastry large enough to cover the tart form including the walls of the form

Using baking beans or ceramic weights bake the shell blind for 10 minutes at 220 °C (430 °F), remove the beans or weights and bake further for 5 – 10 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 200 °C (400 °F).

To make the filling peel and halve the onions and slice into strips. Heat the powdered sugar in a deep pan until it begins to melt. Let caramalize to light brown, but do not let burn. Add the onions and sautee in the caramalized sugar for a few minutes. Add the bay leaf and vanilla and then deglaze the pan with the port and the red wine and continue heating to reduce the liquid. Stir in the honey, salt, pepper and allspice and allow to cool. When cool remove the bay leaf (and vanilla pod if using) and spread the onions in the tarte shell.

Break up the feta cheese into a blender or into a deep cup, if using an immersion blender. Add the cream and eggs and blend until creamy. Mix in salt, pepper, chili, thyme and nutmeg to taste. Spread the cheese mixture over the onions.

Place the tarte on the lowest rack in the preheated oven and bake for 20 – 25 min or until golden brown. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from the form and serving.