CALABRIAN TROPEA RED ONION TART with TROPEA RED ONIONS IGP

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A friend of mine recently visited the town of Tropea in the southern-Italian region of Calabria. When he told me he was going, my reaction was, ‘Ooh, onions!’ The town is famous for the cipolla rossa di Tropea IGT. This is a red onion so famously mild and sweet that you could eat one on it’s own. This makes it perfect for salads but also for preparing in many different ways.

On his return he presented me with a whopping 3kg bag of them fresh from Tropea. Have thrown the first onion into a greek salad, I decided I ought to develop some recipes with the rest. So here, ladies and gentlemen is number 1: torta salata a cipolle rosse di Tropea.

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A torta salata is very similar to what the French call a quiche: a pastry case, filled with vegetables and sometimes meat, held together with cheese. This one, is 100 per cent vegitalian. You will notice that to keep it so I used vegetarian parmesan-style cheese, but you can obviously use parmigiano reggiano if you’re not vegetarian.

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The trick with caramelizing onions, is to salt them and then to cook them as slowly as possible on as low a heat as possible. Cipolle rosse di Tropea caramelize beautifully and turn a vibrant pink colour in the process. If you can’t get Tropea onions, you can use any red onion, but the milder the better. Buon appetito!

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Serves: 4-8 Cooking Time: 50 Minutes50 Minutes

RECIPE :

For the Pastry

  • 200g (1 2/3 cups) plain flour

  • 2g (1/3 teaspoon) salt

  • 100g (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

  • water.

For the Filling

  • 6 red onions (cipolle rosse di Tropea IGP if possible)

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • salt

  • 2 eggs

  • 200ml (1 cup) milk

  • salt and pepper

  • 40g (3 tablespoons) vegetarian parmesan-style cheese


PREPARATION :

Make the pastry

  1. Put the flour and salt into a bowl and mix well. Add the cubes of butter.

  2. Crumble and rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs.

  3. Add water, little by little, until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough. Use as little water as you can.

  4. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Make the filling

  1. Cut the onions lengthways and remove the outer skin. Cut them lengthways into thin slices.

  2. Put the onions into a large frying pan or skillet with the oil and mix until they are coated. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

  3. Heat the onions very gently, stirring frequently, until they become pink, translucent, and have a caramelized flavour, about 30 minutes. If necessary add a couple of tablespoons of water every now and again to stop the onions browning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. It’s very important that they do not brown. Leave to cool down.

Make the pastry case

  1. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).

  2. Grease a 22 cm (9 inch) pastry ring or flan dish and line with the pastry.

  3. Return to the fridge for a further 30 minutes.

  4. Blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Make up the tart

  1. Beat the eggs and mix with the milk. Season with a little salt and pepper.

  2. Cover the bottom of the pastry case with the grated cheese.

  3. Fill the pastry case with the onions.

  4. Gently pour the egg and milk mixture into the pastry case.

  5. Bake for 30 minutes.

  6. Allow to cool before serving warm or cold.

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source: Luca Marchiori