Alsatian (Style) Egg, Irish Cheddar & Onion Tart
Quiche or Tart
The more I cook, and bake, and look for variations and histories of dishes, sweets, and meals, I keep coming back to certain themes, or more like certain presentations. I am in the midst of creating a line of bureks, which I will discuss in a later post. They are traditionally meat, spinach/cheese, or potato pie, but I have some more “elevated” flavours in mind, in addition to a line of sweet dessert bureks. {Project under construction!}
The Burek/Borek history goes beyond my own Croatian family, through Bosnia and all of former Yugoslavia, deep into the Balkans and even the Middle East. Turkey, most agree, are the proud owners of Borek. More on that later.
Tarts
Where desserts are concerned, I have always preferred cake to pie. However, I have, of late, been drawn to tarts of the sweet variety–lemon, berry/fruit, clafoutis/frangipane. With Thanksgiving coming, I am already dreaming about how to switch up the boring pies of old.
If dinner is served under a bed a mashed potatoes a la Shephard’s Pie, or within the dough-filled loving hands of enclosed pastas, from Italian ravioli to Turkish Manti, it allows me to feel, let’s say, safe? Cooking is therapy a good friend once said, and for me, baking as well. I have to come to realize that the protective, safe havens of covered pies, tarts, pasta dishes, comfort dinners, and vintage desserts, are all like a family unit under one wide umbrella. Everyone is under the same roof; everyone is home for dinner.
This is a very grand, and introspective way, to say that I love tarts. About a year ago, my mother gifted me her large silver tart tin with removable center. I immediately fell for its curvy grooves and I forgot I ever owned a pie plate. Whether sweet or savory, I have orchestrated the well arranged sunbursts of summer that come with a tomato tart, and the mosaic of caramelized shallots that became a French onion tart.
I recently concocted an Alsatian ham and leek tart for a weekend breakfast. I found myself on the internet researching, as I love to find reasons to delve deeper into food in order to find the cultural and geographic trajectory that springs from beneath its base. There is something about fringe culture–when two or more food cultures combine or morph or clearly (yes) quarrel with each other’s versions. Hence my creation of this site.
Alsatian History
The Germanic influences on the still French region of Alsace felt like they grounded the sometimes typically lofty cuisine of France. Alcase is in northeastern France, perched on the River Rhine sharing Germany and Switzerland on its borders. In this more subtle case of Alsatian influence, I just know I loved the silky texture of the French style onion tart, wanted a simple dinner (which became a simple breakfast), and couldn’t resist the larger percentage of eggs (and cheese) found in a typically Alsatian tart (quiche by any other name).
I refused to buy pre-made pastry, since it was the easy prep of the savory tart crust that had cured me of my fear of working with dough (and soon, yeast). The simple combination of flour, butter, salt, and cold water, whether worked by hand as I have been doing all along, or in the fancy new food processor I recently came by, breeds confidence in anyone who hides in the one pot meal and cake/sweet dessert worlds as hard I did!
Hint: When pouring the egg/onion/cheese mixture into the tart pan, it’s a good idea to already have the tin set on a baking sheet, since I overpoured a bit and made a nice little mess. The baking sheet will catch any mistakes early.
A traditional Alsatian tart would use Gruyere, but as I only had a reserved Irish Cheddar on hand (Kerry), I felt those flavors would work wonderfully too. Enjoy this dinner or lunch, or breakfast, and the protective enclave of a well made (and easy to make) Egg, Irish Cheddar & Onion Tart.
Alsatian Egg, Irish Cheddar & Onion Tart
Ingredients
Pastry Crust
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tbsp salt
- 4 tbsp cold water (I drop an ice cube in to ensure the "cold"ness)
Instructions
- Cube the stick of butter and add to food processor (I miss using my hands to warm up the cold butter cubes,but I admit this way is very quick! If not using a processor, add the cubes to a mixing bowl.) Add flour and salt, and pulse about 12 times. Add cold water and pulse until the texture looks like sand.
- Empty out onto a flat counter surface and gently knead just a little bit to incorporate the ingredients, but don't over knead. Roll into a ball, press into a disc and wrap in cling film.Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.
- Once chilled, roll the dough with a floured rolling pin onto a floured surface, making sure to flip over occasionally to prevent sticking until the circle is at least 1-2 inches larger than the diameter of your tart pan.
- Lay the dough over the tart pan (I like to butter the tart pan for extra anti-stick protection and buttery-ness of course), pressing into the ridges with a small piece of excess dough. Trim off the tops of the ridges/pan with a knife, making sure to slice away from you.
- Prick the bottom of the tart pan dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze (I froze overnight in order to make for breakfast.) Note: my overnight frozen tart receded a bit from the top of the shell.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Fill the tart shell with beans after placing a piece of parchment paper into the shell. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the bottom is dry and lightly golden brown.
- Saute the sliced onions over medium heat into a couple tablespoons of olive oil and (Kerry Irish) butter. Stir continuously for 30 minutes or more until they caramelize to your liking.
- Whisk the eggs & milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme. Add in the cooled onions.
- Add in 3/4 of the shredded cheese. Pour into tart pan, making sure to have pan set onto a baking sheet. (Make sure to discard any scrambled egg extras that arise from an overfilled base!)
- Bake for 35-40 minutes (lower to 375 degrees if browning too quickly.) Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy whatever combination of cheese, egg, and onion you have. This is a simple, yet rich recipe. Add in any additional flavors,like sausage, ham, bacon, tomato, olives, zucchini. The tart's the limit.
