Before we get into it, one thing I will say regarding goat cheese, is that it’s an acquired taste. It doesn’t please everybody’s palate. One either love it or hate it. And honestly, I didn’t like it. I have this rule when it comes to food “If it’s’ edible and not poisoned, I will eat it”. That rule has allowed me to open my mind to many dishes that I normally wouldn’t even try, let alone make for 6 days (that’s how long this tart lasted). And the caramelized onions definitely helped me in consuming the goat cheese. They were so delicious.
Let’s ROW ROW ROW this GOAT!… …cheese
Ingredients needed:
Pie crust:
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
1/8 cup of cold water, if needed
For the filling:
1/2 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of tarragon
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of red wine
Salt and pepper
1 cup of goat cheese
2-3 tbsp thyme
1 egg
2 red onions
8 inches tart pan
Let’s get started!!!
The pie crust needs to be done first. Mix the salt into the flour. Dice the cold butter and work it into the flour mixture until it looks like wet sand or breadcrumbs. Add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until it can hold its shape. Knead it into a dough for about 3-5 minutes and form it into a disc, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
While the dough is resting, start with the caramelized onions layer. Normally, white onions are used for caramelizing onions, but I wanted to try red onions for the combination with the goat cheese. Cut the onions in julienne, meaning in long slices. Add oil to a large skillet and put it on low flame. Once the pan is hot, add the onion slices and the sugar. And stir the onions every 2-3 minutes to make sure they don’t burn. And let them cook until they start to caramelized, about 15-20 minutes.
Add some chopped tarragon, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to the caramelized onions. Mix them in and let them cook for about 2 minutes so their flavors can come together. Add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan. Let it go for about 2 minutes so the alcohol can cook out.
When you are done with the caramelized onions, start with the cheese filling. The goat cheese should be at room temperature for easier handling. Add the thyme to the cheese. You can chop the thyme which is faster, but I prefer to simply take the leaves off the stem. Add the egg to the cheese mixture and mix it in. And that’s all there is to it.
I tasted the cheese mixture to see how I like it, and I decided to add a pinch of chili powder in there. It’s up to you if you want to add some.
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F
Take the rested dough out of the fridge and roll it out to 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch thick. To ensure that the dough doesn’t stick the work station, you can put some flour on the counter top, but my dough was fine. If the dough cracks while rolling it out, just pinch it back together and keep rolling.
With the help of the rolling pin, carefully lift the dough, making sure it doesn’t tear and put it in the tart pan. My tart pan is non-stick so I didn’t have to spray non-stick spray or oil it, but do so if yours need it. Gently press the pie dough into the tart pan. Don’t stretch the pie dough to fit in the pan, it should just sit in there comfortably. Cut off any excess dough. Press the side of the dough so it can come up over the tart pan. Because the pie shell will shrink while baking, by making the sides a little longer, they won’t be too short. Make some holes at the bottom of the tart shell with a fork. Freeze the shell for 20 minutes before baking.
After freezing the tart shell, bake it for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Baking a pie/tart shell on its own is call blind bake.
After the shell has baked, add the onion layer first, and spread it out. Then add the cheese mixture on top of the onions and spread it out. And then bake the tart for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. The tart will be complete after that last bake.
Enjoy!
Thank you for your time