This French onion soup tarte tatin is one of those dishes that is one thing but tastes like another. It’s the gloriously golden and sweet banana shallots combined with the nutty gruyere cheese that gives this the classic flavours of a French Onion Soup and I am totally here for it!
I think a slice of this with a little rocket salad would make a genius starter for Christmas Day. It’s so quick and easy to make and actually can be made the night before and reheated very easily.
I used a 25cm heavy-based oven-proof frying pan. (Ensure the handle is metal and not wood or plastic!)
Pre-heat the oven to 170C (fan.)
- 1 x 375g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
- a little butter and olive oil
- 6 or 7 banana shallots
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 60g gruyere cheese – finely grated
Take the ready rolled pastry out of the fridge 20 mins before you unroll it – this will stop it from cracking.
Flour your work surface and roll out the pastry sheet a little larger than it already is. It needs to be a bit bigger than the frying pan you’re using. Lay the frying pan over the pastry and cut a circle around the pan larger than the pan by about 1cm.
Lay the pastry disk on a flat plate or baking sheet and pop it back into the fridge whilst you make the rest of the dish.
Peel the onions and cut them lengthways in half. Cut off the very ends of the root.
Place the frying pan onto a medium heat, add a generous nob of butter and a drizzle of olive oil, then when the butter has melted lay the onions cut-side up into the pan. Sprinkle on the rosemary and thyme then let them sauté for about 7 minutes. Season the top with salt and pepper and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top and then, using two forks flip them over onto the cut side. Ensure all the onions are nicely packed together in the pan.
Sauce them well for another 5 mins then pour over the balsamic vinegar. Let it bubble away for 3 minutes more, then take it off the heat and grate over the gruyere cheese.
Gently lay the pastry disk over the top and carefully tuck the edges down into the pan. It doesn’t matter if it looks a bit messy and folded on top. The top becomes the bottom and no-one will see it.
Place it into the oven for 25 – 30 mins or until the top is golden brown and puffed up.
Remove it from the oven and set aside for about 3 mins. Then take a board or a large plate and place it over the pan and carefully but confidently flip the pan upside down. Use one swift movement and use a t-towel because the pan handle will be hot. Remove the pan.
For more pastry recipes check these out on Dom in the Kitchen.
Eat and of course, enjoy!
