So we had a little party on Saturday night. I love to have people over for dinner but I don't like being so busy with dinner that I don't get any time with the people. So the key is to find lots of wonderful things that make themselves, or can be made ahead of time, and appeal to a wide variety of people and ages. A soup party is ideal.
The kids got chicken soup. For the adults, I made a huge pot of butternut squash soup, and my Olympic Onion Tart. I always make it during an Olympic year, to eat while we watch the opening ceremonies. Funny how these traditions get started.
Anyway, guys, I LOVE this recipe. I got it out of Gourmet magazine two years ago. They called it a tart. It's really pizza. I make it all the time. It's great for an appetizer, with soup, and it's awesome cold the next day for breakfast. Or lunch.
This is one of those things you make according to the recipe twice, and after that you kind of wing it until it becomes something your own.
Make this. Make it your own.
Onion Tart
- 1 package frozen pizza dough (click here if you want my pizza dough recipe)
- 3 lbs yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced (you can do just white, or just red. Or combo red and white. You could also do a combo of onion and fennel, which is quite nice.)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I sometimes use a combination of Dijon and honey mustard. In the pictures below I tried whole-grain which was a mistake. Way too overpowering. Don't.)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or any shredded cheese you wish. Literally whatever I have is what I use and it always comes out good)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Fresh (or dried) chopped parsley or any herbs of your choice. If you use fennel, chop the fronds fine and use them.
Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions (and fennel if using), 1 tsp salt, and a few grounds of the pepper grinder. Saute for 5 minutes until well-coated, then lower heat. Low heat and long time is the name of the game when it comes to caramelizing onions. You're going to cook these a good 45 minutes to an hour until they are very tender and golden-brown. The good news is you can do this step up to two days ahead of time, and store the onions in the fridge until it's time to make the tart.
Preheat oven to 450 with rack in the middle.
Oil or spray with Pam a baking sheet. Stretch pizza dough out, into a rectangle if you can but I never seem to manage more than a lopsided circle. Doesn't matter, it's supposed to look rustic. Spread mustard evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2" border around edge.
Spread onions evenly over mustard, then sprinkle cheese, then herbs over all.
Bake tart 10-12 minutes until crust is golden brown.
Slice.
Serve.
Die.
Your guests will love it.
I had a great time. I'm so glad you came.