Goat cheese and caramelized onion tart
Jammy caramelized onions and tangy goat cheese on a puffed, golden pastry crust, with a lemony arugula salad, the kind of dinner that looks like a bistro made it.
- 90 min total
- 50 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.43 a serving
- 530 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 puff pastry sheet, 1 sheet
- 3 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 package arugula, 5 oz
- ½ lemon, juiced
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- ½ tsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp dried thyme
Each serving has about 530 calories, 14 g protein, 38 g carbs and 37 g fat, and costs about $3.43 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No arugula? Baby spinach or spring mix works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Thaw the puff pastry sheet on the counter until it unfolds without cracking, about 40 minutes.
Timer: 40 min
While it thaws, the onions.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
While the pastry thaws, the butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a large over medium heat. Add the onions and of salt and cook, stirring every few minutes, until , soft and deep , 30 to 35 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Caramelize. Caramelizing means cooking slowly until the natural sugars turn deep golden brown. It turns sharp onions soft, jammy and sweet, and it often takes 30 minutes or more.
How you’ll know: They’re soft, sticky and amber brown, and they taste sweet rather than sharp.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 32 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Low and slow is the whole trick. If they start to scorch, add a splash of water and turn the heat down.Stir in the balsamic and thyme and cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and let the onions cool a little.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
the oven to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Unfold the pastry onto a -lined .
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Score a line ½ inch in from the edge all around without cutting through, then prick the middle all over with a fork.
Dolly’s tip: The scored border puffs into a crust while the pricked middle stays flat for the filling.Spread the onions inside the border, the goat cheese over them and brush the border with the beaten egg.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are puffed and deep .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min 30 sec
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
the arugula with the lemon juice, the rest of the oil and of salt. Cut the tart into 4 and serve with the salad.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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