Onion tart with spelt bread base

The onion in the photo below weighed in at 649g which is nearly 1.5 lbs! As soon as I saw it I picked it up and remembered making this onion tart when the girls were young and I needed something transportable, yummy and ready as soon as we got through the door. I used to make it with gruyère cheese and a buttery soft, white flour base. You’re guessing this was before Sun Temple?? You’d be right. Read on dear Sun Templer, I’ve made this onion tart temple friendly-ish.

When I picked up the onion, I wondered what sort it was so I asked a nearby supermarket assistant. She pointed to the sign which simply said “Jumbo Onions” I know I thought. I was hoping for a variety name like Vidalia or some such….no joy. The check out lady told me the same thing…”Jumbo onion…..it just like a white onion.” I was fascinated. I had to have it. The resulting tart was nothing short of beautiful, both to look at and to eat.

The main thing which needed temple-ising, was the base. You see, the benefit to a bread base over a pastry one is that it has soooo much less fat and a better sort of fat. I improved the GI and fibre content and general good-for-you-ness by using organic wholemeal spelt flour. I’m sorry about the fact that it is still gluten intensive and contains dairy, but seriously what would be the point? Also, FYI, this is not an onion quiche as it contains no milk.

The Onion Tart bread base

285 ml (10fl oz) water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp honey

454g (1 lb) wholemeal spelt flour

1 heaping tsp active dried yeast

For those of you with a bread machine, simply put all the ingredients in and select the dough mixing only setting. Everyone else, you can use a dough blade in your food processor or other mixing device, or simply employ elbow grease until the dough is smooth and elastic. Allow to rise until doubled, then punch down, roll out and fit to the pan of your choice. Mine was fluted as you can see and I have to say that this dough was very accommodating and friendly.

This dough amount is roughly double what you will need, but you can put the leftover in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer until you feel the urge to use it again. Or….you could shape into rolls (allow a second rising if you do) and bake in the oven along with your tart.

Onion Tart Filling

600g onion roughly sliced

75g butter

3 eggs beaten

good grating of nutmeg

120g sharp cheddar/gruyere grated

It makes sense to start your dough at least an hour and a half or so before you intend to put your tart together as it needs rising time. While it is rising, chop the onion/onions, and soften in the butter until translucent but not brown.

If you have patience (I don’t have much) you can wait until the onions are cool and mix all the filling ingredients together. If not simply put them all into the waiting base and shooshle around a little bit.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 170ºC (340ºF) for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the filling is firm when a knife is gently inserted and the colour is similar to the first photo above.