The whole house smelled of caramelized onions, thyme, and butter this weekend.
Which is to say, I didn’t want to leave the kitchen. I’m going to go ahead and ignore the negative 10 degrees outside that caused a winter scene of ice to develop on our kitchen window. That may have also had something to do with it. But that smell you guys, it was intoxicating.
And what was producing that smell? Oh just this beautiful little tarte soleil, a French-inspired puff pastry appetizer which I filled with caramelized onions, ricotta, and thyme and then twisted into little tendrils to be pulled apart and consumed. It’s wonderful, really.
In my imaginary life, I always have a batch of homemade puff pastry in the freezer, ready to be pulled out whenever the occasion arrises (and for some reason, the occasion has been arising frequently as evidenced by the amount of quiche and persimmon tart we’ve been consuming lately). I see myself casually making puff pastry dough on the weekends, wrapping it snuggly and placing it into the freezer, only to be defrosted during the week when guests arrive for our dinner parties. There is a lot of red wine involved, my hair always looks good, and there isn’t even the sight of a plastic toy in the dining room.
That is so not my reality, and in fact any attempts I’ve made at making laminated doughs have all ended with tears and a lot of wasted butter, so I’ve resolved myself to being a puff pastry dough consumer. Not a maker.
Up to this point, I’ve always gone for the medium priced stuff—you know, not the Pillsbury brand but maybe the Trader Joe’s option—and stayed away from that $10 a pound DuFour package that seemed just a little bit too pricey for flour and butter.
But when you factor in the hours of someone’s life that it took to produce that small batch of DuFour’s dough, well then you understand the price tag. I splurged this time around, and I don’t think I’m ever going back. This dough—it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. It puffs beautifully. It melts in your mouth. It’s everything you want to make your tarte soleil shine.
No, of course, you don’t need it, but I’m trying to make a strong argument that you should splurge once in a while. With dough in hand, you’ll roll it out and spread your filling on top. Then comes the fun part—the cutting of the strips and the twisting into it’s signature shape.
It looks far more complicated than it is, you just need to be careful not to rip the dough in the center where it’s thinest. But once you’ve made your twists, a quick egg wash and into the oven it goes.
If you’re feeling generous, you should serve this at a party. But I’m telling you—we stood over it and ate half as soon as it came out of the oven. The other half? We’ve been sneaking a piece every time we pass through the kitchen.
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 14 ounce package puff pastry, thawed (recommend using Dufour brand)
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they start to soften. Add sugar, thyme, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until onions start to brown. Lower heat and stir in balsamic vinegar, cooking for about 1 more minute.
- Transfer onion mixture to food processor and pulse until mixture is almost smooth. Let cool.
- Meanwhile, divide puff pastry in half and roll out each half into about an 8 inch round. Use a plate or other circular object to trace out a perfect 8 inch circle. Discard scraps.
- Place one piece of puff pastry onto baking sheet. Spread a thin layer or ricotta cheese on top, stopping about ½-1 inch from the edges. Spread onion mixture on top, and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of that.
- With your finger, dab a little water around the edges and place remaining dough on top. Gently work your way around the edge, pinching the two pieces of dough together.
- Using a 1½ inch cookie cutter or champagne class, make a small indentation in the center of the tart, taking care to not push all the way through. Using a sharp knife, cut four lines from the outside of your circle to the edge of the dough, dividing the circle into quarters (imagine you're making North, East, South, and West marks). Make another set of cuts to divide each of the quarters in two. Then repeat again, so you end up with 16 sections in your tart, all stemming from the center circle.
- If dough is too soft, pop it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up. Then, starting at the center, gently twist the dough to form tendrils.
- Dilute egg yolk with a drop of water and whisk. Brush top of tarte with egg wash, then sprinkle some more Parmesan and thyme if desired. Bake for 32-38 minutes, until pastry has puffed and top is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving.
Oh, that smells divine! (I’m pretending in my head that it is baking right now in the oven). Lovely.
writes AngieThis is going on my Superbowl party menu. I can’t wait to try it!
writes JessThis looks great! And it seems like it’s fun to make. Yum!
writes @5SensespalateGoing into the oven for the Superbowl party tonight – I’ll let you know how it goes!!
writes ChristineAwesome! I hope it turns out delicious!
writes Vicky