Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart

…  A Savory and Sweet Egg Filling with a Tender Flaky Crust!

A tart – also referred to as quiche (when there is a savory filling) – is basically a pastry crust filled with an egg and cream base, then embellished with whatever flavors and extra ingredients your heart desires. It makes a perfect light meal or side dish in a brunch spread. In this particular recipe, a bed of sweet, caramelized onions are layered atop a flaky and tender pastry crust. A creamy, egg filling seasoned with rosemary and thyme bakes into a smooth almost custard-like center that gently supports the sliced tomato rounds. The colorful presentation represents a dish requiring much more work than has occurred. I love dishes with those results, don’t you?

This recipe would be perfect to make for Meatless Mondays, with a side salad to complete the meal. If you prefer to include some meat in your tart, however, I’d suggest trying some chopped chicken and sage breakfast sausage. I’ve found it complements the flavors already present.

Quiche always makes me feel like I’m indulging in a culinary treat, without much work. Basically, a single, bottom layer crust is prepared and pre-baked, filled with the egg/cream mixture and your favorite ingredients, then baked. Simple, right?

To make a creamy filling without including milk, I’ve substituted the cream with canned coconut milk. I used the Thai Kitchen canned coconut milk, not the low fat, which worked perfectly. You could certainly try using the low fat version as well. I’ve also made the crust slightly more flavorful and tender by adding ½ a Tablespoon of sugar to my gluten-free, dairy-free homemade pie crust recipe, but this is purely optional. I thought it added a little extra depth to the crust and rounded out the herb-y flavors of the tart. The entire recipe is free of gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts, and shellfish. It is also a perfect vegetarian dish using ingredients as listed below.

Quiche and tarts can be served hot or at room temperature, but leftovers must be stored in the refrigerator. It also freezes well once it has completely cooled from baking in the oven. I like to cut my extras into individual portions, freeze on a baking sheet, then vacuum seal them for airtight storage. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, then heat in the microwave, or bake again in the oven at 300ºF for about 20 minutes. Oven reheating will produce a flakier crust again, but there’s not always time, so the micro works fine too.

Tip: To make quiche or tarts less messy, less work, and less time-consuming at meal prep time, prepare your pie crust in advance (don’t pre-bake) and freeze in the pie plate. While you’re preparing the filling, you can pre-bake the crust. Yay! I hope you enjoy this savory tart as much as I do!

Gluten-free Dairy-free Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Baking time: about 45 minutes

Rest time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie crust of your choice – I used my homemade crust recipe with the addition of 1 Tablespoon sugar (it adds just the right flavor and texture for this tart)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced

½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, chilled

½-1 teaspoon nutritional yeast, optional

5 small tomatoes – I use Campari tomatoes but any small tomato will do (not cherry or grape tomatoes)

1/8 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper

¾ cup canned coconut milk – I use Thai Kitchen

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

½ teaspoon dried crushed thyme

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and rosemary. Cook, stirring periodically, until onions are soft and have browned to a caramelized state. Keep the temperature just hot enough to caramelize (by releasing the sugars in the onions), but not to burn them. This should take about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Continue with next step while the onions are cooking.

Roll out pie crust dough into a shape large enough to line the bottom and sides of a tart or quiche pan. Prick bottom of crust with a fork, then line with a sheet of foil and place some dried beans or ceramic beads on the foil. These will act as weights to keep the crust from puffing up while pre-baking. Bake for 8 minutes at 450ºF oven. Remove weights and foil and continue baking 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and set aside until filling is ready. Continue with next step while crust is baking.

Place sliced tomatoes on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with 1/8^th teaspoon salt and pepper. Allow tomatoes to drain some of their juices.

Sprinkle nutritional yeast over baked crust. Spread caramelized onions in a smooth layer over yeast.

Whisk together, in a large bowl, coconut milk, eggs, onion powder, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over onions.

Place sliced tomatoes on top of the filling. They’ll submerge a bit, but that’s fine.

Bake in a 425ºF oven on center rack for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350ºF for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into center of tart comes out clean. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack to “set” for 10 minutes. Serve hot or continue cooling to room temperature. Store completely cooled leftovers in refrigerator. Can be frozen, as directed above.

Safe food is a journey … Thrive!™

Other recipes you might enjoy:

Prosciutto and Sweet Pepper Mini Quiche

Prosciutto and Asparagus Quiche Cups

*This recipe was shared on Gluten Free Fridays.