Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Caramelized Onion, Olive, and Mozzarella Tart

This tart went from whatever to tantalizing to whatever. I wanted to make it because I wanted to write a blog post about it. But I soon became interested in the process of making it although I was not particularly looking forward to the result. Chopping and cooking the onions helped me think; the world became spacious with the sound of frying onions. But I was not salivating yet. That happened when I put the assembled tart in the oven. I wanted to eat it. I rejoiced: this was an achievement. Was it as good as I anticipated? No, not really. Too much of too thick of a still somewhat doughy crust. The whole thing was just ridiculously heavy, and I thought the cheese actually detracted from the caramelized onions. And I’m not sure the olives were necessary. If I made this again I would use four onions instead of two for the same size tart, I would not use whole wheat pastry flour in the crust (I ran out of all-purpose flour), and I would not add olives or mozzarella. And wine might be a nice addition. Or something else a little fruity. Maybe tomatoes, or even apples.

In the morning the cheese has hardened into a tough, dry scab. This tart has a very short shelf life; it lasts from the time it begins baking until it’s tasted. But I nibble on the caramelized onions, which never needed to be packaged and garnished at all.

7 comments:

  1. This sounded good actually, until you, um, described it. I was imagining it with goat cheese though.

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  2. That is the trouble with me describing food. Despite my description, it wasn't *bad*. I bet if you made it with goat cheese, and some sort of nonwheat crust, it would be tasty. If you used a cheese that flowed more when it melted instead of stringy mozzarella, and didn't let it brown in the oven, it would probably be better. Jesus, this is starting to sound like a suggestion.

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  3. Mmm, I shall have to try it someday...I do have a recipe somewhere for an onion tart...

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  4. No! It was from a cooking class at Allyson's. At least I think it was an onion tart...Or maybe it was an apple tart...

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  5. Lol, do you often confuse onion and apple tarts?

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