Val’s onion tart – as I remember it

Val’s onion tart – as I remember it

Winter

I first tasted this tart in the Arctic Circle, where I was cooking with my friend Val Warner. There are few people who cook with such love – the onions alone took hours of gentle tending before they were just the way Val wanted them. I’ll never forget its utter deliciousness, so I’ve tried to recreate it, but not from the detailed notes Val kindly sent me, from taste and texture alone, from the memory I have somewhere between head and heart.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 300g (10½oz) plain flour
  • 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
  • Pinch of fine sea salt
  • About 150ml (5fl oz) chilled water

For the filling

  • 1 large knob of unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
  • 4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp light brown soft sugar
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Make the pastry. Pulse the flour, butter and salt in a food processor to the consistency of breadcrumbs. With the motor running, steadily add the water, stopping as soon as the dough comes together. Remove the dough, knead it a couple of times, then wrap it in parchment and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat and add the butter and the olive oil. When the butter has melted and is bubbling away, add the onions, thyme and bay and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Turn down the heat a little and stir the onions regularly for 10–12 minutes, until they are beginning to soften. Then, place a lid on the pan and cook for 1 hour, stirring every so often, until the onions have reduced to a thick, sweet compote of sorts.

Remove the lid from the pan, make a little clearing in the onions and
add the garlic. Sizzle it lightly, then fold it into the onions along with the sugar and vinegar. Stir well. Cook for a further 20–25 minutes, or until the onions are dark, thick, heartbreakingly soft, and just beginning to catch on the base of the pan. Stir in the mustard and season with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the onions to cool a little while you make the pastry case.

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.

Roll out the chilled dough to a thin round large enough to line a 24cm (91⁄2in) loose-bottomed, fluted tart tin, leaving an overhang. Prick the base, then line it with baking parchment and baking beans. Bake ‘blind’ for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until the base is dry and lightly coloured. Remove from the oven and trim the overhang. Carefully turn out the onion mixture into the tart case and use a spoon to level off.

Bake the tart for 15–20 minutes, until the onion filling has set just firm to the touch and is lovely and dark. Allow to cool a little before sprinkling with flaky salt and slicing.

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