A very simple tarte à l’oignon is a great starter for a dinner party–it’s good hot or at room temperature, so you can pop it out of the oven or make it ahead.
I routinely make a couple of different savory tarte tatins–a French kind of upside-down pie. A favorite that I often serve as a starter, is tomato tarte tatin.
For our cooking class, my cuistot-par-excellence Christine suggested her onion tart as the entrée (starter in French). It’s flavorful and rich, but not so rich that you can’t eat the main course. Perfect.Christine’s Onion Tart
1 flaky pie crust (you can make your own–recipe from Blanche Caramel coming soon–but the ready-made version here is really good. It even has its own sheet of parchment paper.)
4 big onions, cut in half and sliced thinly
olive oil
1 1/3 cups (33 cl) crème fraîche semi-épaisse, or half-thick sour cream. Does such a thing exist outside France, with its gazillion kinds of crème fraîche? You can mix sour cream with liquid cream, or just use sour cream. When I remade the tart, I had bought thick cream by mistake. The tart turned out great anyway.
Salt, pepper, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius).Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and cook the onions on high heat, stirring constantly so they don’t stick or burn. It should take only a couple of minutes for them to soften up.
Mix the onions with the other ingredients in a mixing bowl.Spread the pie crust on its parchment paper in a tart pan. You can use a pie pan, but it will be smaller and deeper, and the portions will seem smaller.
Stab the pie crust a few times with a fork. Spread the onion mixture onto the crust. Fold the edges toward the middle if necessary (Christine’s tart pan was bigger than mine and didn’t need folding).
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot or at room temp.

Isn’t it too hot to bake where you are? Or put on the oven?
Give me some iced lemonade svp!!’
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Actually, it has been really lovely. Hot, like summer, but not awful. In the mid-to-upper 80s. The day we cooked with Christine, though, it definitely was hot, in the mid-90s. One more reason to make this kind of tart–you can do it ahead and let your house cool down before guests come.
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I’ve got to try this!
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You won’t regret it. Very easy and very yummy.
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That looks delicious and very simple actually. I’ll have to go looking for some ready rolled pastry 🙂
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Yes, it’s really delicious for something so quick and easy.
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This looks gorgeous. You’re making me nostalgic for my Belgian mother-in-law’s cooking, not to mention the ease with which I could walk out the door when I lived in Paris and was able to treat myself to something this tasty. (Sigh!)
I’m almost tempted to give this a shot, but I always have such problems finding the proper pastry that is ready made. And I have never successfully made a crust on my own though I have tried several times.
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In a cost-benefit ratio of work to deliciousness, this is a big winner. Try to find a good readymade crust!
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I think if I was to make this I would look for a “puff pastry”, would that be about the same type of crust?
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Yes, that’s exactly the translation!
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Yes, yes…..will be doing this. It looks wonderful. Could the onions be caramelized with a bit of basalmic vinegar?
Ali
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I would think so, although I wonder what the vinegar might do to the cream.
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THIS LOOKS AND MUST SMELL WONDERFUL.
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Smells divine.
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This looks so tasty! Caramelized onions are a game changer in any recipe. Can’t wait to try this!
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You are so right about caramelized onions.
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When I ask myself what ingredients I absolutely could not be without in the kitchen onions are always on the list. This scrumptious looking tart is actually making my mouth water – I can’t imagine a more delightful entrée 🙂
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Onions and garlic make savory dishes so much tastier.
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Delicious!
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I do a version of this as individual tartlets with goats cheese rather than cream. It’s great as a starter or with a salad for lunch.
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Miam, that sounds delicious!
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I am so making this tart. May I suggest if you have a reader that can’t find crème fraîche in their area they can make it with 2 ingredients – leave it on the counter overnight.
http://www.makeminelemon.com/creme-fraiche/
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Thank you for the crème fraîche link!
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This looks delicious!
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It is! And easy!
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Mmm… I miss France!
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I hope you can come back!
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Ah just a bite! Thanks for sharing this with us, it looks lovely. xo
-Patti
http://notdeadyetstyle.com
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Pretty, easy, delicious. Can’t miss.
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Looks delicious!!
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It is! Credit goes to Christine.
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This looks great! I’m going to get ingredients and make it right now haha. I’m definitely linking to this in my savory pie roundup next week
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Thanks! I’m sure you’re going to love it.
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Oh my gosh, I totally do! It’s amazing! I added a bit of thyme, laurier, and pepper which worked out really nicely.
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That sounds like a good idea. More herbs the merrier.
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