A Rustic Potato and Onion Tartlet

Like I said, we have been getting tons of potatoes in our CSA, and rather than just making mashed potatoes over and over again (even though they are so good!) we have been trying to be creative.  When Nick said he found a recipe for a Rustic Potato and Caramelized Onion Tart I was completely sold and could not wait for dinner!

Dinner is served!

This recipe had a lot of moving parts going on...
The Necessities for the tart filling (adapted from Foodess)

• 1 recipe of pastry dough
• 1 egg yolk 
• about 4 - 5 small red onions
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 pound of potatoes
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of shredded Cheddar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground pepper

The Necessities for the pastry dough

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup lard
• 1/4 cup butter (cubed)
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 4 tablespoons ice water

For the pastry, Nick first added the lard, butter and flour to a bowl - cut up perfectly.

Some butter and lard

Using a pastry blender (one of my favorite toys!) Nick blended all the ingredients together until it was nothing but crumbs.

Crumbs...

Nick then sprinkled the vinegar and the ice water over the crumbs a bit at a time until the mixture holds together.  At this point, he poured the dough out onto a large of piece of parchment paper.






On the parchment paper, he formed a disk out of the dough and then tightly wrapped the dough ball in the parchment and stored in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Dough ball

While the dough ball was literally chilling, he went ahead and thinly sliced the red onions.

Chopped onions

Nick added the onions to a sauce pan heated with oil and butter.

Cooking onions...

He continued to allow them to cook over low heat until they were fully caramelized.  Towards the end he added the sugar and allowed them to cook a bit longer and then spread them out over a plate to cool.

Completely Caramelized

In the same pot he added the sliced potatoes and topped with cold water (covering the potatoes by an inch).  The potatoes came to a boil, cooked for 5 minutes, and were then run under some cold water to cool down.

Cooking Potatoes

In the meantime, he mixed together the sour cream, eggs, cheese, sage, salt and pepper.






Once completely combined, he stirred in the cooled onions.






The pastry came out of the fridge and between two sheets of parchment was rolled into a large circle about a quarter of an inch thick.  There was no need to keep it straight since we were going for a rustic look to this tart - no even circles needed!

Tart Dough

The bottom piece of parchment with the dough on the top went onto a baking sheet.  Nick then layered on the sliced potatoes, leaving about a 2-3 inch border of dough.





Next, Nick piled on the onion mixture and maintained that 2-3 inch border of dough.





He then folded those dough borders up around the insides, pinching the folded pieces tightly and sealing the edges.  The edges of the tart were brushed with a whisked egg yolk.





He then popped it all into a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes, and then reduced the heat to 375 degrees and allowed the tart to cook for another 35 minutes, until golden brown.

Tart is ready!

Nick plated each piece with some greens we got from our CSA that week.

Dinner is served!

Needless to say this was an indulgent weekday meal that Nick prepared.  I enjoyed every bite of this tart.  It was so rich and was a perfect contrast to the crisp greens.  Making it rustic took the perfection out of the dough, which takes some of the pressure off, but also provides a great look to the tart itself.  This really is a great dish for so many occasions and perfect for the fall weather!