Onion Tarte Tatin

I’m weird.

This will come as no surprise to those of you who know me well. If you go with me to a restaurant for the first time, I’m always going to try to order the weirdest thing on the menu. I want to try things that are new to me, things I’ve never tried before.

One thing I really love is the intersection of sweet and savoury. I’ve done this many, many times before on this blog: chocolate paired with salt, sweet cakes paired with savoury herbs, sweet cookies imbued with salty nuance.

Traditionally, a Tarte Tatin is a sweet dessert, a French take on apple pie. Basically, you make a caramel, and then on top of that caramel, you lay fruit slices. Apples are traditional, but really you can use anything. Everything gets tucked in under a blanket of puff pastry and baked, and then it’s flipped upside down so that the caramel layer is on top, and then the fruit, and the puff pastry forms the crust.

It’s so, so good.

I had never considered to do a Tarte Tatin savoury until I was recently flipping through this cookbook Cassandra gave me.

In Praise of Veg by Alice Zaslavsky is a tome. Like a literal tome. It weighs about 10 pounds and makes an excellent tofu press. It’s a beautiful book, encyclopaedic, brightly colour-coded to individual vegetables. What I love about this cookbook, beyond its bright colours, are that the recipes are off the beaten path (for example, this Onion Tarte Tatin). Like yes, we all know that you can make a million different things with yams. But her recipes are a little creative, so the “Yacos” or salt-baked yam tacos, which will be what I’m trying next.

So, onions and caramel. Sounds pretty awful, right? BUT! What if you gave the caramel itself a savoury twist by adding wine and vinegar and miso? The onions caramelize and the natural sugars of the onions combine with the savoury caramel, and everything gets tasty and just plain good.

So for this Onion Tarte Tatin recipe, I adapted it a bit to make it vegan. The original recipe called for anchovies, and I thought miso would make a good sub for that.

I at this bad boy naked, but a crumble of blue cheese (if you’re vegetarian) or of vegan blue cheese on top would be *chef’s kiss.*

Onion Tarte Tatin {Vegan}

Rebecca Coleman

A Tarte Tatin using caramelized onions and a savoury, not sweet, caramel. Adapted from "In Praise of Veg" by Alice Zaslavsky.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine French

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 2 onions I used a mix of red and white, larger
• 1 sheet vegan puff pastry
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp heavier wine I used red vermouth, but sherry or port would work
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar or other white vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• fresh herbs for garnish chives or thyme

Instructions

 

• Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and allow it to thaw for about an hour before beginning.
• Peel the onions and slice them into 1 cm thick pieces, and then place them in a shallow, heat-proof pan and pour boiling water over them to soften them, and let sit for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and place the onions on a paper towel to dry.
• In a heavy-bottomed pot, place the sugar along with 1/4 cup of water and turn the heat up to medium-high. Don't stir it, but you can swirl the pan occasionally. Let this bubble away and cook until it becomes caramel-coloured. You'll need to watch it carefully, especially towards the end, as it goes from zero to burnt very quickly. This should take about 5 minutes, maybe a little more.
• Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the wine, butter, vinegar, pepper and miso. It will bubble up and react, so be careful. Whisk until it's smooth and incorporated, placing it back on low heat if needed.
• Preheat oven to 425.
• Pour your finished caramel into the bottom of a 8" round pie pan or cake pan.
• Arrange the onion slices in a pretty pattern over the caramel.
• Unroll the puff pastry, and using a paring knife, cut a circle the same size as the pie pan.
• Place the puff pastry over the onions and tuck in the sides. Add the scraps to the top.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Carefully place a plate overtop of your pan and then flip it so the tarte is on the plate and the caramel is at the top.
• Garnish with herbs and serve warm.

Video

@findbex Onion Tarte Tatin—sweet & savoury, caramelized & crispy. Full recipe link in my bio. #vegan #plantbased #french #frenchpastry #tartetatin #onion #weirdfood #foodblogger #cookbookauthor #misocaramel ♬ Lofi Vibes - Gentle State

Keyword easy vegan, vegan