Ingredients
- For the dough:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 stick + 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
- For the filling:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 medium size yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 4 oz. grated cheese like gruyere
- 4 oz. baked ham, diced – optional, for variation
Directions
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To make the dough:
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In a bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, place flour, salt, and butter. Pulse until you get coarse pea size crumbs, then add the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Pulse until a crumbly ball forms. If the flour mixture still looks dry and doesn’t form into a ball, add another tablespoon of water and pulse a bit more.
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Take dough out of the bowl, form into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour.
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Butter your tart pan.
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Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 10-11-inch circle (larger than your pan). Roll it around the rolling pin and transfer to the tart pan. Unroll, and fit it in the pan bottom and sides. Remove excess dough. Wrap in plastic and put back in the fridge for half an hour.* (If you don’t have time, you can skip the chilling).
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Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
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If you have time, I encourage you to blind bake* the dough. If not, take a short cut and skip this step and move on to making the filling.
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- For blind baking:
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Place parchment paper over the dough (already organized in the tart pan), add rice/beans on top all the way to the sides, and bake in a 375 F degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans.
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Add the filling and bake the tart.
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To make the filling:
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In a large skillet, melt the butter with the oil. Add the onions and sugar, salt, and pepper, and sauté until the onions are soft and golden. Stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the rest of the filling ingredients, and more salt and pepper to taste.
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Pour the filling onto the tart lined with the dough.
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Place the tart pan in a larger baking dish and bake for 45-60 minutes until the filling is cooked and golden.
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Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.