Pears, Onions, Cheese & Pastry, Summer in the South

 

Savory, Caramelized Onion & Pear Tart

 

This pear tart is not about sweet, but savory. Delicious, and flavorful with balsamic vinegar, caramelized onion reduction, and fresh Bosc pear, in a ready made puff pastry crust and just oozing with smoky gruyere cheese. (From my e-book, Seasoned in the Kitchen on Amazon.com).

Prepare the Caramelized onions:

½ tablespoon unsalted butter

½ tablespoon mild olive oil

2 ½ cups thinly sliced red onion

3 (2-inch) sprigs of fresh thyme

½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste 

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat until sizzling.

Add the onions, thyme sprigs and salt to taste.

Turn the heat down to medium, and cook, stirring often, until onions are golden brown.

Add balsamic vinegar and cook for another minute, add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat, take out the thyme stems and set the onions aside until assembly. 

 

Puff Pastry:

Pre-heat the oven to 400º

½ of (17.3 ounce) package frozen puff pastry thawed in the fridge according to package directions.

 

On a floured board, roll out the puff pastry until it is about 10” x 10”. Place the pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet and put back in the fridge until ready to use.

Assembly:

1 teaspoon Country Dijon mustard

1¼ cups freshly grated smoky Gruyère cheese

Caramelized onions

Fresh Bosc pear, cored and cut into cubes

1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Fresh thyme, finely chopped, to taste 

Remove the prepared puff pastry from the fridge.

Brush the Dijon mustard on the bottom of the tart, to within 1/2 inch of the sides.

Sprinkle the grated Gruyère over the mustard.

Add the caramelized onions over the cheese.

Bake for 20-22 minutes depending on your oven.

Before removing from the oven, make sure bottom of tart has lightly browned.

While the tart is cooking chop the pear into 1-inch pieces and place in a bowl. Pour the orange juice over the pears to keep them from turning brown. Drain.

Remove the tart from the oven and place as much pear as you would like on the tart. If you have pear leftover, save for another use.

Sprinkle the tart with a small amount of sea salt, chopped fresh thyme and freshly ground pepper before serving.