Upcycling Pastry Scraps into a Tasty Caramelised Onion Tart – Simple Recipe
This technique provides a quick take on the French onion tart, turning a handful of pastry scraps into a impromptu snack. Keep and collect any scraps into a ball and re-roll as the need arises. Dough freezes beautifully in the icebox, and by avoiding two time-consuming steps in the classic recipe – creating the pastry and caramelising the onions – this dish is ready in nearly half the time. Alternatively, the onions are cooked inverted, steaming and caramelising beneath a covering of dough with salted fish and dark olives for a fast, playful take on a French classic. In case you have a smaller amount of dough, you can always cut down the ingredients.
Fast Inverted Pissaladière Tarts
The current wave of flipped tarts, which went viral on TikTok and social networks a couple of years ago, may have started with an appetizing and simple fruit and honey pastry or an motivational onion tart that even inspired a complete guide on flipped dishes. Personally, I’ve been enjoying myself with inverted baking recently, from an extra-long leek tart to these quick pissaladière tartlets. It’s a easy, creative approach to prepare something that feels particularly unique.
Yields 4 individual tarts
- 1 purple onion
- 2 tbsp extra virgin oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 8 salted fish (or 4, for a milder taste)
- Dark pitted olives, to taste
- 120g pastry sheets – light or firm works as well
Warm up the oven to 410F/210C. Strip and trim the onion, then chop into four thick, circular pieces. Line a hob-appropriate oven sheet with non-stick paper, then visualize where you will place each slice of onion. Pour those areas with oil and honey, then season. Lay two fillets on top of each flavored area and cover them with a slice of onion. Nestle a few olives in and around the onions, then add with a additional fat, sweetener, seasoning and pepper.
Activate two adjacent hob rings to a moderate temperature, place the sheet on top of the rings and let the onions to cook undisturbed for five minutes.
In the meantime, on a lightly floured surface, spread the sheets and cut it into four squares just large enough to cover each slice of onion. Gently lay one dough piece on top of each slice of onion, flatten on the perimeter with the back of a tool, then heat for a short while, until the pastry is crispy. Set a plate on top of the hot pan, then flip to turn the tarts on to the plate. Slowly remove the paper and serve.