Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Tart

Hi all, and sorry for being silent for daaaayyyssss. I’ve been not only working a lot, but also been sick (like still) and spending the last couple of days in bed. That is so annoying, especially when you’d have so many things to do. Now I at least have the strength to write, before today my brain has just felt like a potato mash.

A while ago I prepared zucchini and tomato galettes, remember? They were a hit on my birthday party, but I never got to taste them myself, as they disappeared in minutes. They got a lot of compliments, especially for being so cheesy and the crust being very delicious. So as I needed to get to know how they tasted exactly, I prepared them again the other day. Now, as the original recipe of the galette crust is not mine, I am allowed to praise it into heavens by saying it is absolutely amazing. In a matter of fact, we have a similar way to prepare a pie crust in Finland, but instead of sour cream we use curd, a very sour milk product, rich in protein. Actually I am curious, if this curd is used worldwide? I didn’t find it in Brazil, but for example in Germany it’s widely used.

Back to galettes: This time I halved the amounts for the dough and filled the tarts with caramelized onions and goat cheese. I had had a roll of goat cheese in our fridge for long, and as it was soon due the date I had to come up with something to use it in. The amounts here make either one big or two small galettes. I made two smaller ones.

This was totally delicious, but be aware of the calories…again!

Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Tart

For the dough:

3dl all-purpose flour, chilled in refrigerator for 30 minutes

110g salted butter, cubed and chilled again

0,7dl sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

70ml ice cold water

For the filling:

2-3 large red onions

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon cane sugar

2 tablespoons dark balsamic vinegar

250g smooth ricotta

200g soft goat cheese

25g parmesan cheese, grated

0,5 teaspoon salt

black pepper

1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon water, for brushing

fresh thyme, to garnish

Prepare the dough. Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and by using your hand work it until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare the filling. Peel, cut in half and thinly slice the red onions. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions in the skillet and stir so that everything is covered with oil. Let the onions caramelize for 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t let it burn.

After the onions have become soft, add the chopped garlic, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Let simmer for 5 minutes more. Set aside.

Mix together ricotta, 3/4 of the soft goat cheese (leave the 1/4 for crumbling on top of the ready tart), grated parmesan, salt and black pepper into smooth mixture.

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Prepare the galettes.  On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into two rounds (or one if you want to make just one bigger tart). Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. 

Spread half of the ricotta filling on each round, then top with half of the caramelized onions, leaving a 4 cm border. Fold the borders over the filling, pleating the edge to make them fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze.

Bake the galettes until golden brown,  the smaller ones for 20 minutes and a big one for about 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh thyme and crumbled goat cheese, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate.

Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.