It's Bloomin' Onions

Each Saturday, as you might have noticed, I am picking up onions.  Some small, some medium, some big giant ones, but all yellow onions from a fabulous farming family in Middleborough, MA.  Vegetables from Freitas Farm, run by David and Darcy Freitas, have become a constant in my Saturday mornings.  I always stop by their table first at the market and talk with them about what they're growing.  They have started a lot of seeds in the greenhouses in preparation for the spring planting. But so far, green leaf lettuce and, recently, tomatoes are making it to the market with them.  Darcy was telling me last week that they should have some of spring's first green veggies in the next few weeks.  I'm giddy!  Until then, I am sticking to my constant of onions.

 As you can see from the picture above, I have quite the collection of onions (and garlic and shallots) going!  A beautiful truth about onions is their ability to play a number of roles in a dish.  They are quite versatile little bulbs.  Whether you're using chives, scallions or leek; pungent red onions, sweet Spanish onions, cioppolinis, shallots, Vidalias or plain old whites, they add a wonderful layer of flavor and texture to just about every dish.  For the most part, onions are the starter vegetable in the pan of just about every dish I cook.  The great thing about onions is they also can gracefully play a leading role in a dish just as easily.  Two of my favorites are French Onion Soup and Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart.  I entered this weekend determined to use my onions and to enjoy some of my favorite recipes.  But first, I tried one new recipe. 

Saturday
This was the first free Saturday night I have had in quite some time, so I wanted to just put up my feet watch a movie and relax.  I opted for a fig-prosciutto pizza with arugula recipe from Pioneer Woman that was delicious.  I managed to forget the camera while I was in the kitchen, so you'll have to salivate over her pictures here. After all the errands I ran and the haircut appointment I had to drive an hour each way for, I figured I'd start my onion recipes the next morning. 

Sunday
When my brother and I bought our condo together in 2004, we received a slow cooker from my parents as a housewarming gift.  Along with the slow cooker came a little cookbook.  Our favorite, and one of the easiest recipes, was for French Onion Soup.  We used either Vidalia or Spanish onions for this because they both have a nice sweet flavor; however, sticking to my plan, I am going to use my onions from the Freitas families.  (This is a nod to my brother, who still makes gallons of this soup and loves every spoonful of it.) 

French Onion Soup adapted from Betty Crocker

2 - 3 large onions, sliced (3 cups)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 cups beef broth (that's three of those 1 qt. boxes of broth you can now buy in the store)

Mix onions and butter in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high setting for 30 to 35 minutes until onions are soft and slightly browned.

Mix together flour, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and pepper.  Stir flour mixture and broth into onions.

Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 9 hours (3 to 4 hours on high setting) or until onions are very tender.  Seriously, put the lid on and walk away.  No peeking!

I opt to top my soup with homemade croutons and shavings of Parmesan rather than all the cheese and bread.  (click on link above for the instruction on how to make the cheesy broiled French bread if that's how you roll)  This recipe makes 8 servings and is only 185 calories per serving, minus the cheese and croutons.  Don't you love that?!

If you're looking for something a little different than the traditional onion soup variety, I recently found a recipe for Five Onion Soup, which I am curious to try when more of these onions are in season.  Check back for this one in the future.

Monday
I tried Ina Garten's Goat Cheese Tart recipe last year for the first time and fell in love!  It was great as leftovers and was easy to dress up or down.  I made it with heirloom tomatoes in the height of tomato season last August.  I tried it with different herbs, bacon, and even made it with caramelized onions in honor of my favorite Trader Joe's appetizer (Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese puff pastry tartlets).  It was out of this world.  This is a great treat at potlucks or for a dinner party with close friends.  In this case, I will enjoy it as leftovers throughout the week.  It reheats beautifully and tastes just as good the next day.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart (adapted from Barefoot Contessa Barefoot in Paris)

1 store-bought pie crust, at room temperature
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about two cups)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup shallots, minced
10 1/2 ounces goat cheese or chèvre
1 cup heavy cream 
3 eggs
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When working with store-bought crust, I have a few tricks up my sleeve:
1) I always roll out the dough a bit before placing in the pan.  It removes the tell-tale crease marks and will give you a more uniform circular shape.  

2) Using the rolling pin, roll dough up onto the pin to make for an easier transport to the pan.  Unroll across top of dish and gently press dough into tart pan.  You don't want to stretch the dough.  Dough will always shrink back to its original shape, so stretching it could render you a tart shell that is too small to hold the filling.  Once you've carefully tucked the dough into the pan and pressed it into the ridges, run the rolling pin across the top to cut off the excess dough.  At this point, I put the pan in the fridge for about 15 or 20 minutes, just to firm up the crust a bit. 

3) For blind baking, take a piece of tin foil and rub one side of it with butter.  Place buttered side of foil onto the dough and fold over the sides.  Make sure the crust is completely covered with foil.  Pour dried beans, dried rice or pie weights on top of the foil to weight down the crust.  This will keep the dough from puffing up in the center.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, discard the beans/rice and foil.  Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork and bake for another ten minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of butter in a pan and saute shallots over low heat for five minutes, or until tender, but not brown.  Remove from pan and allow to cool.  Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute onions over medium heat until soft and caramel-brown.

just getting started

halfway there

Place goat cheese in the bowl of a mixer and cream the cheese until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Add cream, eggs, salt, pepper and thyme and mix until combined.  Add the shallots and lightly mix just until combined.  Scatter half the caramelized onions into the bottom of the tart shell.  Pour the cheese mixture over the onions to fill the shell (if the tart shell has shrunk, there may be leftover filling.)  Sprinkle the remaining onions on top and stir into cheese mixture just until they are covered.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tart is firm when shaken and the top is lightly browned.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve hot or at room temperature.

I missed the buzzer by a few minutes and it ended up a bit browner on top than I like, but it's still a beauty.

Here's the money shot.  See all those caramelized onions in there?

 I made a baby arugula salad tossed with some champagne vinegar, shallots, salt, pepper, olive oil and sprinkled with a few shavings of parmesan cheese.  Yum!

I think these are leftovers I will be glad to have for lunch this week.  Now, time to soak the beans for my Old-Fashioned 15 Bean and Ham Soup.