When planning what items to keep stocked in your pantry do you consider your freezer as well? I always keep items like frozen berries (who doesn't love a taste of summer in the dead of winter?) and homemade chicken stock, but I also love to keep a package of puff pastry on hand. So many delicious things - both sweet and savory - can be made with this flaky, buttery dough; tarts and pizzas, pot pies and hand-held pies, appetizers, pop-them-in-your-mouth desserts, you name it.
This sweet onion and gorgonzola tart is easy to make and is so delicious! Simply bake the rolled out pastry until golden, then top with caramelized onions and gorgonzola and bake again until the cheese is nicely melted. It's a great addition to a brunch menu but also makes for a wonderful lunch or dinner when served with a green salad.
Sweet Onion and Gorgonzola Tart
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in refrigerator
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large sweet onions such as Vidallia or Walla Walla, thinly sliced
4 sprigs thyme
1/3 cup beef stock
1/4 cup Gorgonzola (or blue) cheese, cut or pinched off into small chunks
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll the puff pastry into about a 10 by 16-inch rectangle. Trim the uneven edges to make a perfect rectangle. Place the pastry sheet on the baking sheet. With a fork, pierce the interior of the pastry to prevent rising. Bake until the outer edges have puffed and are golden in color; about 15 minutes. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and thyme; season well with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown. Deglaze the pan with the stock (that is, add the stock, a little at a time, scraping and stirring the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom oft the pan). When the onions are caramelized to a dark golden color, remove the pan from the heat and discard the thyme stems.
Evenly distribute the gorgonzola bits and the caramelized onions on the cooked pastry shell and heat in the oven until warmed through and the cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer to a cutting board (I like to use the cutting board as the serving tray as well). Cut the tart into squares and serve immediately.
Try these other tasty sweet and savory recipes using puff pastry:
Mini Vegetarian Puff Pastry Pizzas
Turkey (or Chicken) and Brie Puff Pastry Bites
Chanterelle Mushrooms with Blue Cheese Pie
Party Sausage Bites with Pine Nuts
Puff Pastry Brie and Apricot Bundles
