FRIENDS.
I’m back.
Sorry about the weeks-long hiatus. Life got crazy like whoa very, very quickly — pretty much as soon as my grad classes started up, and I took a new job, and so on. Enter: Katie’s Life Without Any Free Time Whatsoever. Thank you so much for being understanding and supportive while I adjusted! If I have missed an email or anything, please let me know; I’m worried that some things got lost in the chaos. : / Also. I’m going to aim for posting at least once a week from now on. Let’s hope I can manage that. I missed blogging! I missed chatting with you guys, cooking crazy things, and telling you about it. It’s true that having to take a break from the internet in general was also seriously refreshing. But I am delighted to be back. And with a very worthy recipe to celebrate!
Now let me explain — this recipe looks complicated. It looks like it will take hours to make. It looks like it has a lot of ingredients. But really, this took me about 45 minutes total, prep and cook time, and it’s actually fairly simple. Plus, doesn’t it just look and sound so classy?
Ok, I admit it; I’m a grad student who huddles around free food at lectures. And puts samples in my pockets. That have holes in them. My already questionable hygiene has taken a further hit due to studying. An apple with gobs of peanut butter suffices as a meal on (frequent) occasion. Nearly all my clothes are thrifted.
I know nothing of classiness.
I came across a photo of a Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin on Pinterest way back when, and while I wasn’t so keen on the recipe itself (especially since it had gluten in it, ha), I fell in love with the visual. I actually bought cherry tomatoes at the store every single week while I was away from the blog, vowing that I would find time to make the tomato tart of my dreams… And here we are, three or four weeks and pints of tomatoes later, with — at last! — my own gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan version of a savory tart. I knew I’d get around to it! Good thing those overripe, wrinkly, geriatric tomatoes are easily disguised by the oven’s magic. : )
Sweet and Savory Balsamic Caramelized Onion and Cherry Tomato Tart
This tart has a buttery crust that mimics a glutenous one beautifully. It is topped with sweet caramelized onions and garlic — I use red onions for a richer flavor. The touch of balsamic vinegar carries the sweetness of the onions and candy-sweet, juicy tomatoes, while also bringing the perfect amount of complexity and depth to this (surprisingly) simple, high-protein dish. It’s savory, sweet, and one of the most delicious things I have ever made.
Inspired by this Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin.
Ingredients:
Crust
1/2 C garbanzo bean (chickpea or besan) flour
1/2 C blanched almond flour (how to make your own)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 C water
2 Tb extra virgin olive oil
Topping
1 small red onion (or half of a medium)
1.5 Tb extra virgin olive oil
salt
2 cloves garlic
2 Tb balsamic vinegar (plus more for drizzling)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (you might not use all of it)
Recipe:
Crust
1) Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
2) Add water and mix thoroughly with a fork.
3) Add olive oil and mix thoroughly.
4) Preheat oven to 350*. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, using wet hands, press dough into an even circle.
6) Using a fork, pierce the dough to create vents all over. Place in oven and begin working on topping. (You will remove the crust once it turns a light tan on the very edges.)
Tart Topping
1) As crust bakes, slice onion into thin rounds.
2) Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions.
3) Sprinkle onions generously with salt to make them sweat. Stir occasionally.
4) Chop garlic, and once onions are translucent and beginning to brown, add garlic.
5) Stir occasionally to keep garlic from burning, but since you want the onions to caramelize, you can just leave them alone for the most part. Once they turn a beautiful dark brown, turn off the burner, and add the balsamic vinegar.
6) Scrape the skillet as the vinegar reduces down and infuses the onions and garlic.
7) Your crust should be ready by now, if it wasn’t beforehand. Remove it when it is a light tan on the edges. Keep the oven on.
8 ) Spread the onion/garlic/balsamic mixture onto the crust.
9) Quickly slice the tomatoes in half and arrange on top of the onion mixture.
10) Return tart to oven. Once the edges of the tart are lightly browned (see pictures) and the tomatoes are cooked (starting to break and release their juice, or wrinkly, or swollen), remove. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve.
Serves two as a meal, or six to eight as an appetizer.
Printer-Friendly Version
We literally devoured the entire thing in five minutes. There are simply no words. None.
And since I’ve probably overwhelmed you with the apparent length of the recipe, I’ll close it down here. (Also, it is waaay past my bedtime, and I am suddenly very committed to getting a solid set of hours in each night. Amazingly, sleep makes the waking hours more productive. Who knew, right?)
Yay — I’m blogging again! Give me a day or so to catch up on comments — it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to respond as quickly as in the past, but it is still so important to me to keep up our conversation. Comments and emails will always be a priority, so don’t think I care less just because I’m posting less! New recipes are coming, friends. I have so many tasty ideas percolating that I really had to restrain myself from experimenting in the kitchen all night on Sunday, when I made this dish. This is a very good thing.
OK — what did I miss this month? How have you been?!
Any requests?