Caramelised Onion And Feta Tart

Caramelised OnionTart Photo: Annabel Langbein

Caramelised Onions

Ready in 40 mins / Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients

• 6 large red or brown onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 cup water
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves

Method

Combine all ingredients in a pot, cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. 

Remove the lid and cook, stirring now and then, until all the water has evaporated and the onions are just starting to stick on the bottom (about 15 minutes). Allow to cool. Stored in a jar in the fridge, they will keep for a couple of weeks.

ANNABEL SAYS: Using a food processor makes fast work of slicing the onions for this recipe. If you’re chopping them by hand, take a slurp of water (or wine) and hold it in your mouth as you slice. It helps to stop you from crying! Adding a little water at the start speeds up the caramelisation process without reducing the flavour.

Caramelised Onion And Feta Tart

Ingredients

• 3 cups Caramelised Onions (above)
• 150g sheep feta or other feta, grated or crumbled
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
• Flaky Pastry
• 2 cups high-grade flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 220g frozen butter, grated
• ¼ cup iced water

Method

To make the Flaky Pastry, combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Mix in the grated butter and work a little with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough crumbs. Then add the water, mixing just until a soft dough is formed. 

Place a large sheet of baking paper on the bench and tip the dough onto this, pressing it together with your hands. Place another sheet of baking paper over the dough and roll the pastry out with a rolling pin into a circle about 35cm in diameter.

Transfer to a baking tray and chill for at least 10 minutes or until ready to assemble (chilling pastry prevents shrinking during cooking).

Preheat oven to 200˚C fan bake, and place a pizza stone or baking tray in the oven to preheat. 

Take your pastry base from the fridge and remove the top layer of baking paper. Spread the Caramelised Onions over the top of the pastry, leaving a 4cm border around the edge. Crumble the feta over the top and sprinkle with thyme. 

Fold the pastry edges in towards the centre to partially enclose the filling, then pleat in little folds to make a pastry border. Slide the tart and its baking paper base onto the hot pizza stone or tray and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 180˚C fan bake for a further 35-40 minutes until golden and crisp. 

ANNABEL SAYS: People often avoid making flaky pastry because they think it will be too hard, but my homemade version is super easy and delivers a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth result you’ll never taste in store-bought pastry. The trick is to not overwork the dough, or it will be tough. This pastry can be frozen and can also be made in a food processor. If that still sounds too hard, use 500g commercial flaky pastry instead.