I suppose some people would consider it cheating. These delicious savory tarts are quick and easy to make because I use frozen puff pastry dough rather than making my own. (Puff pastry isn’t difficult to make, but the process is a little more fiddly and time-consuming than making ordinary pastry crust, so I usually take this shortcut.) Thaw it out and invest just a few minutes of active cooking time with a short list of common ingredients, and you’ve got a very special cocktail snack or appetizer course for an autumn dinner party.
Frozen puff pastry is available in nearly any supermarket. I try to buy only brands that use only butter for their fat –they color beautifully and are most faithful to the rich flavor and tender texture of homemade (or bakery) puff. Dufour brand is probably the gold standard, but it’s expensive, costing as much as $15 for two sheets. Trader Joe’s house brand is just as good, I think, and it’s $3.99. I always keep a box or two in the freezer.
The tomato and olive topping I’ve used here are just one variation on a theme. The sweet caramelized onions are also wonderful on their own, and bacon, crumbled blue cheese, roasted red peppers and anchovies are all excellent alternative accompaniments. Whatever you choose, though, use a light hand so you don’t smother the delicate flavor of the onions or weigh down the puffy pastry.
Recipe
(serves 4-6 as an appetizer)
Ingredients
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
3 medium yellow onions (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme (or a pinch of dried)
1 pinch of saffron (optional)
About 12 cherry tomatoes or two small ripe tomatoes
Mild black olives such as nicoise
Salt
Instructions
1. Defrost the puff pastry to the point that you can fold it without it cracking. (You can do this in the refrigerator over several hours or leave it out in a warm kitchen for a half hour or so. It should be cool when you work with it, though.) Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. In a large skillet or saute pan, warm the oil for about a minute over medium-high heat. Add the onions, sprinkle them with a few pinches of salt, and cook them until they’re a light golden color, stirring infrequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the bay leaf, thyme and saffron, if using, cover and cook them until they’re a dark golden color and tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes total.
3. Let the mixture cool completely. Remove the bay leaf and the stems from the thyme sprig. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Set aside.
4. While the onions are cooling, slice the tomatoes thinly (cherry tomatoes in half) and salt them lightly. After a few minutes, blot them with a paper towel to soak up excess moisture.
5. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry until it’s about 1/8 inch thick, and then cut it into four pieces. (Don’t worry about getting it to a perfectly even thickness.)
6. Place the dough squares on a baking sheet lined in kitchen parchment or a baking mat. Spread a couple of tablespoons of the onions on each piece, leaving about a 1 inch border around the edges.
7. Fold over the edges and press firmly to secure them. Arrange a few pieces of tomato and a few olives on each tart.
8. Bake until deep golden brown, enjoying the deeply satisfying aroma of butter and onions for about 20 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
