This is an easy and tasty dish perfect for lunch or my favourite, a simple supper.
It’s more of traybake than a tart, as it’s baked in a cake tin or pan. But there’s nothing to stop you from baking it in a traditional tart or pie dish, or even a normal baking dish.
The recipe came about because I had loads of beautiful red onions, plus a few brown ones on hand. I had just been to the Spring Harvest Festival at Vaucluse House run by Sydney Living Museums where I came away with a big tub of Vanella Cheese ricotta.
So caramelised onions on creamy ricotta on puff pastry was the go! Baked as a traybake made it easy to cut into slices for serving.
Not too tricky, give it a go!
Ingredients
3 large brown onions
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 red onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
300g ricotta
3 free-range eggs
Salt and black pepper
1 sheet of puff pastry (approximately 180g, if you’re using block puff pastry)
Method
Cut all the onions into rings. No need to be too precise – they can be quite chunky. Reserve the rings from two of the red onions.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat on the stovetop. Add the olive oil. Put in all the onion slices except the reserved red onion slices. Add the salt and brown sugar.
Cook for several minutes until the onions are soft and caramelised, turning occasionally. Now add in the reserved onions and cook for a further couple of minutes, until the onions have only just started to soften. Remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C fan forced.
Grease your cake tin/pan or tart dish or baking dish.
Mix the ricotta, free range eggs, salt and black pepper with a spoon or fork. No need to blend or process.
Place the sheet of puff pastry snugly inside the tin/pan/dish, cutting it or stretching it to fit your dish. If using block pastry, roll out 180g into a shape to fit the size of the dish.
Soon the ricotta mixture over the puff pastry. Layer the onions on top, making sure the red onions you cooked last sit on the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden round the wedges and the ricotta is set.
Serve warm or cold, with a green salad and crusty bread. You can freezer left over slices too.
The Quirk and the Cool 