I am sharing with you a recipe for a Caramelized Onion, Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Tart that I made for lunch on Friday. It was my attempt to use up the pile of peppers I found in the fridge and to try something new and different (inspired by various recipes I found online). The tart turned out very well, but could do with a bit of tweaking. Primarily, I would change the pastry – perhaps even use a large rectangle of puff pastry instead. The pastry was quite plain and almost too heavy for the deliciously light and tasty combination of caramelized onion, roasted peppers and feta. If anyone has a good recipe for a savory tart pastry, I would love to hear from you.
Pastry (Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)
200g flour (I used whole wheat)
100g butter
Water
Pinch of salt
1. Place the flour on a work area or in a bowl.
2. Add the butter cut into small cubes (butter should be room temperature).
3. Rub the flour into the butter until a crumble mix forms.
4. Add the salt and water (1-2 tbsp) and massage dough. It should detach easily from your hands (in food processor, it detaches from the bowl).
5. Form into a blob and place in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap for a minimum of one hour before using.
6. When ready to bake, roll out pastry into a circle (as thinly as possible) on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the tart dish, pressing it lightly and firmly over the base and sides of the tin, easing any overlapping pastry back down to the sides, as it is important not to stretch it. I had to do a bit of a cut and paste job here.
7. Prick the base all over with a fork and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Check halfway through the cooking time to make sure that the pastry isn’t rising up in the center. If it is, just prick it a couple of times and press it back down with your hands.
Topping
3 large onions, 1 red onion, vertically sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
few grinds of black pepper
2 tsp thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
3-4 bell peppers (I used red and yellow)
1 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
1. Preheat oven to high heat and cut peppers in half, lengthwise, discarding seeds.
2. Place the pepper halves, skin side up, on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until they are blackened. When cool, coarsely chop.
3. While peppers are roasting, heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet, add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and bay leaves and cook for 15 minutes on a medium heat or until deep golden brown, stirring frequently.
4. Remove from heat and discard bay leaves.
5. Arrange onions, pepper and small cubes of feta in baked pastry case and bake for a further 20-25 minutes.
~ Recipe submitted by Joanne Mandel of the delicious food blog, Eat Love Jump
