LUTÈCE'S ONION TART — The Kitchen Scholar

SOURCE: ANDRÉ SOLTNER AND SEYMOUR BRITCHKY. THE LUTÈCE COOKBOOK.

For the entire forty-three years of operation, Onion Tart never left the *Lutèce* lunch menu, heaping praises from media establishments like *The New York Times*, *Epicurious*, and *Martha Stewart* *Living*. Should it ever be offered as compliments of the chef at the dinner shift, the tart would only appear occasionally because it had to be ordered in advance. How a flaky buttery tart shell loaded with a creamy custard of soft caramelized onions won over Manhattan’s *crème de la crème* diners for more than four decades probably drew its rustic homey charm from André Soltner’s humble Alsatian heritage — after all, the culinary know-hows of this dish technically come from his aunt.

Ingredients

Tart Dough

2 cups/240 grams sifted all-purpose flour

8 tablespoons/114 grams unsalted butter

1 teaspoon/6 grams salt

1/2 cup/120 mL cold water

8 cups/450 grams finely chopped onions

1 large egg

1/2 cup/120 mL heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Specific Equipment

Large mixing bowl

Wire whisk

Plastic wrap

Large nonstick skillet

Small mixing bowl

Rolling pin

Metal flan ring with a diameter of 10 inches/25 cm

Tray lined with parchment paper

Fork

Parchment paper

Pie weights OR dried beans

Pizza peel

Serves 6

Instructions

1. Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl with a wire whisk until well-blended. Rub in the butter with your fingertips, pressing them into coarse cornmeal bits. Make a well in the center and pour in the cold and knead the mixture until well-blended and starts to hold its shape together.

2. Knead and roll the dough into a flat circle on a floured surface and cover with a plastic wrap. Rest the tart dough for at least 30 minutes.

3. Spoon the lard into a large nonstick skillet and set over moderate heat. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions become tender and translucent

4. Raise the heat to medium and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the onions have turned tender, slightly shrunk, and lightly browned. Remove the skillet from heat and set aside.

5. Beat the egg and cream in a small mixing bowl with a wire whisk until well-blended. Stir the mixture with the onions on the skillet until well-blended. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, adjusting according to taste. Set aside.

6. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.

7. Roll the dough into a flat circle with a diameter of 12 inches/30 cm with a rolling pin. Fit the dough inside the metal flan ring set over a tray lined with parchment paper, pressing the dough into place and into the sides of the ring. Trim off any excess dough from the top edge by rolling the rolling pin over. Prick around the bottom and flute the sides of the lined tart shell with a fork. Chill the tart shell for 10 minutes to rest.

8. Place a parchment paper over the tart dough and fill the parchment paper with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the lined tart shell for 10 minutes or until the tart dough has slightly shrunk and strayed away from the sides of the metal flan ring. Remove the tray from the oven to cool the tart shell slightly.

9. Remove the pie weights or dried beans and the parchment paper from the tart shell and reserve them for another time. Fill the tart shell with the onion mixture and bake for 25 minutes or until the onion mixture has set. Remove the tray from the oven.

10. Remove the metal flan ring from the tart and use a pizza peel to transfer the tart to a large serving plate.

Nov 24 LUTÈCE'S ONION TART