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Caramelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola and Brie

Caramelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola and Brie

A little while ago, on a visit to Annisquam, Massachusetts, my friends Ann and Nick hosted an "Impress the Food Blogger" dinner at their home. Guests were encouraged to bring a favorite dish, and we all got to vote on what we thought would be a hit on the site. The evening was a blast, the votes were tallied, and the winning dish? This caramelized onion tart, or pizza as it was called, brought by Ann's friends Jeff and Marilyn. I've made this tart several times since I first had it, and it's one of those dishes you want to limit to special occasions, because it's really hard to stop eating, it's that good. Crispy, pillowy puff pastry, with balsamic caramelized onions, topped with sprinklings of gorgonzola, brie, and tarragon.

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The original caramelized onion pizza recipe is from Marilyn and Jeff's friend Bonnie Stern, Canadian author of several cookbooks. I played a bit with the recipe, rolling the dough out more thinly, reducing the amount of onions and cheese, so the serving pieces would be easier to hold and work better as appetizers. Perfect for New Year's crowd. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

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Caramelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola and Brie Recipe

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes

Tarragon is a summer herb, if you can't find any, you may crush a few fennel seeds (maybe half a teaspoon) and sprinkle over the tart. Or top with fresh chopped fennel fronds, after the tart has been taken out of the oven.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cups of sliced onions, sliced root-to-top into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 2-3 med onions)
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 8 oz frozen puff pastry (defrosted a couple hours in the fridge)
  • 2 oz chilled Brie cheese, rind removed and diced
  • 2 oz Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, diced
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Method

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1 Heat oil in a large deep pan on medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until wilted and starting to brown. Add sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook gently, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until richly caramelized. Add a little water if the onions look like they are starting to dry out. Cool.

2 Roll pastry into a 10-to-14-inch rectangle (or whatever shape you want). Place pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick with a fork at a couple inch increments to prevent the pastry from forming big bubbles while baking.

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3 Spread onions over pastry, all the way to the edges of the pastry. Dot with cheese. Sprinkle with tarragon. Refrigerate if not baking immediately.

4 Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 18-20 minutes or until cheese has melted and pastry is crispy. Cool for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges or squares and enjoy!

Yield: Makes 9 to 12 appetizer sized pieces.

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40 Comments

Thanks for this. Brie is very good on vermicelli, too, with a few toasted walnuts. Either cut off or mince the white rind.

Posted by: Novelismo on December 31, 2011 10:56 AM

Wondering if Gruyere would work with this recipe, since no one in my house like blue cheese varieties. What are your thoughts for substitutes?

Your guess is as good as mine. I love gruyere, and I love the way that the blue cheese works in this recipe with the other flavors. If you make it with gruyere, please let us know how it works out for you. ~Elise

Posted by: marcia303 on December 31, 2011 11:11 AM

I must say not only thank you but your recipes are by far the best i can find on the net! Bar none, the food channel, food.com, on and on. I try many touted chef's recipes and none ever come out as well as yours. If one simply follows the recipe you give you are rewarded with a delicious,spectacular treat. BTW: I adapted your Turkey Meat Balls for a fabulous, delicious dinner.
Having cooked down a chicken carcass to a rich full bodied stock with just S&P, Onions and carrots added at the last: I used some in a large skillet added to a flour/butter rue....working it into a rich gravy, (somewhat wet). cooked the meatballs in it turning frequently as they browned, and added more stock as the water evaporated. Finished it with a dash of S&P and ladled it over noodles. WOW! One of the best main dishes I have had in ages. PS: I pre made the balls. Froze them. Using half I defroated on a sheet lined with oiled wax paper on the counter. I am using the rest tonight with your cranberry glaze recipe. If they come out 1/2 as good as the first batch I shall be in Gourmet Heaven. Great blog and thank you so much!

Posted by: Laurence V Sausa on December 31, 2011 11:39 AM

What amazing flavours in this tart!

Posted by: Kevin (Closet Cooking) on December 31, 2011 12:27 PM

This looks amazing! One question...would it be possible to roll this up (jelly roll style), slice and bake? Happy New Year, everyone, and thanks to Elise, we'll be having a tasty New Year, too. So many awesome recipes! Thank you!

Well now that's an idea. Don't know if it would work. Haven't tried rolling up puff pastry jelly roll style. ~Elise

Posted by: Judy B. on December 31, 2011 2:07 PM

let us know about the jelly roll technique. I would like to serve this for eating out of hand! as opposed to knife and fork! Cheers

You don't need a knife and fork for this. Just cut them into squares and serve. You can easily pick up with your hand. That's how I've served them, no problem. ~Elise

Posted by: Diane Wilkinson on December 31, 2011 3:14 PM

I love caramelized onions. I think they're very
special and add a richness to dishes that takes
them to another level. Thanks for sharing. Happy
Holidays!!

Posted by: Angela on December 31, 2011 4:31 PM

It is in the oven and smells AMAZING! Cannot wait to sink my teeth in it. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!

Posted by: Amy on December 31, 2011 6:00 PM

Oh i know.. this is going to be one of my most favourite flavours ever and I am not kidding. I make caramelised onions with the balsamic and eat it from a bowl! with a spoon ... to add the cheeses and herbs would be nirvana.. thanks elise, this is going onto my blog shortly, watch out for the credit!! .. c

Posted by: Cecilia Gunther on December 31, 2011 6:35 PM

I make a very similar "pizza" with thin crispy crust- not puff pastry but I can imagine this would be perfect with the puff pastry. I also make one with very thinly sliced raw potato and Smoked Gouda on a garlic butter crust. I think I will make both of these next weekend with the puff pastry. My mouth is watering.

Posted by: Peg on December 31, 2011 10:08 PM

Wow, I made something extremely similar on Christmas Eve using the Sweet and Sour Onion marmalade from Peter Reinhart's American Pie. I used puff pastry, too, and topped it with the marmalade, Gruyère, and a buttermilk blue. It was delicious, as I'm sure this is!

Posted by: Melissa K on December 31, 2011 11:52 PM

This looks amazing! Caramelized onion and brie? Oh, yes, it will happen in my kitchen.

Thanks for all the amazing recipes. Happy New Year!

Posted by: Lynn on January 1, 2012 7:16 AM

We made this last night and it was soooo good! Accidentally forgot the gorgonzola, so next time, and there will be one soon, we'll add that and maybe even a few walnut pieces. By the way, ours turned out looking EXACTLY like yours. So yummy, thanks Elise!

Posted by: Ann and Scott on January 1, 2012 8:29 AM

This recipe is great vegetarian idea and it will solve my problem of a bag of onions ( 5kg ! ) that I impulsively bought for only $3.
Happy New Year !

Posted by: The Experimental Cook on January 1, 2012 8:22 PM

To those who inquired about rolling up jelly roll style...I have a similar recipe. Soft brie is spread on puff pastry, topped with caramelized onions, rolled up, and then sliced approx. 1/2" thick. Place on parchment. Press down slightly to 1/4", and bake at 400 till golden. Makes a great appetizer.

I'm looking forward to trying this tart version, though...love the combo of gorgonzola AND brie!

Posted by: Laurie on January 1, 2012 9:02 PM

One of my sons favorite dishes is quite similar to this: I make it into a quiche-like pie using caramelized onions, swiss, bleu cheese and eggs. I use a simple, single pie crust recipe for the bottom. Í'll have to try this recipe out on him next time! Thanks

Posted by: Willow on January 2, 2012 7:04 AM

What kind of puff pastry do you use?? Help!

I use some brand from Whole Foods (can't remember the name of it) but Marilyn and Jeff use Pepperidge Farm. ~Elise

Posted by: Georgia on January 2, 2012 2:05 PM

This was absolutely delicious. I used it with leftover baked ham and pineapple and it was perfect. Easy and definitely will be a repeat addition to my table. Thank You!!!

Posted by: Ellen on January 2, 2012 4:56 PM

what a gorgeous pizza! The caramelized onions and the cheeses - oh my! Not too familiar with tarragon, but definitely willing to give it a try... Happy New Year, Elise!!!

Posted by: Val from PA on January 3, 2012 7:28 AM

This looks AWESOME! Thank you for this recipe :D

Posted by: esther on January 3, 2012 8:51 AM

I LOVE onion tarts and keep trying different recipes to add to my list of favourites, so this will definitely go in the to-try folder! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Sylvie on January 3, 2012 9:50 AM

Made this for a New Year's Eve party and it was insanely good! I followed the recipe above, except I brushed the pastry with a little olive oil and sprinkled some minced roasted garlic over it before adding the other ingredients. The best app at the party, if I do say so myself :D

Posted by: KariVery on January 3, 2012 3:21 PM

I don't see why you couldn't roll these into palmiers and bake...just as long as they aren't overfilled they will be fine! Looks delish, can't wait to try it!

Posted by: Angie on January 3, 2012 6:28 PM

Tried sprinkling a few pine nuts on top and let brown .. Garnished with small anchovy sprats....yumm yumm.

Posted by: Dave Still on January 4, 2012 10:19 AM

Made this last night and it was delicious! It was easy to prepare and very pretty, too. We used Port Salut cheese in place of the Brie and served with an arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette and French bread. I didn't notice until afterwards that the dish is intended as an appetizer - we were happy to convert it to an entree!

Posted by: Paula on January 4, 2012 11:59 AM

Hi Elise,

This looks really good. Have you ever tried to make puff pastry from scratch? I'm wondering how hard it is...something in my nature, I never like to buy store brand if I can avoid it.

Thanks for the great recipes as usual!

I have not, but here's an interesting method for making puff pastry from Ashley of Not Without Salt. ~Elise

Posted by: Hannah on January 4, 2012 3:59 PM

This is my kind of tart!!! Gorgeous!

Posted by: Delishhh on January 5, 2012 9:43 AM

Very tasty! I made my own pizza crust, rolled out to about 14" diam (about the same area as the 10x14 described), and found that using 2 med onions (mine were 3 1/2" diam) gave a more sparse coverage than I would have liked; I'd recommend 3 med onions next time. I also was not purist about the cheeses; I used a danish blue and some Feta, and served it up as a pizza. It was a great success.

Posted by: SAPeter on January 6, 2012 7:41 AM

Thank you so much for sharing! This pizza is amazing and I’ve been inspired to feature it in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. If you have any objections, please let me know. Moar, moar, MOAR please :)

Posted by: Javelin Warrior on January 6, 2012 7:49 AM

I'm stealing this for a party I'm giving next week. Instead of buying both Brie and Gorgonzola, I might just substitute Saga Bleu. Hmmm.

Posted by: Lee on January 7, 2012 6:54 PM

I've paired gorgonzola and caramelized onions before. Never with brie though! Seems like it would just add to the yum factor.

Posted by: Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence on January 8, 2012 1:33 PM

I've just made a batch of this, tastes absolutely fab!

Posted by: Melanie Gardiner on January 15, 2012 8:26 AM

there is nothing not to like in this recipe!!

Posted by: doodles on January 15, 2012 8:08 PM

The majority of the year March through Thanksgiving I can go to my garden in Charlotte, NC and pick fresh tarragon but alas it is January. Given that tarragon grows so prolifically I have gallon bags full of it dried. Would you recommend using dried tarragon and if so whole, crushed or ground?

I would not used dried tarragon. I might crush up some fennel seeds instead. Or just sprinkle the cooked tart with chopped fresh fennel fronds. ~Elise

Posted by: Stephanie on January 21, 2012 7:07 AM


I'm not one for making resolutions but last week, while browsing my "starred" recipes from blogs I follow and which I just never seem to get around to actually making, I made a resolution that each time I get two days in a row off work I AM going to make one of those recipes.

I am making this scrumptious looking tart for dinner tonight with a salad (it is summer here in New Zealand) - and what a wonderful way to kick start my resolution !!

Posted by: Lynne on February 19, 2012 4:21 AM

This looks absolutely devine! I will have to make this for my friends. The pictures are wonderful. What a yummy recipe. Thanks for sharing!

-Thursdays

Posted by: Mary Clare on February 19, 2012 7:01 PM

Very, very tasty, despite the fact I don't like blue cheese and so just doubled the Brie. I couldn't get fresh tarragon either and had to use dried. Still turned out beautifully.

Posted by: Lynne on February 22, 2012 1:12 AM

This recipe is fantastic! We used chicken thighs slow cooked in stock and herbes de provence and added chopped spinach to make it a gourmet pizza.

Posted by: Corrie on February 23, 2012 1:59 PM

I am not a Blue Cheese fan, but made it just as written except a tad more Brie. This was GREAT! Tx!!!

Posted by: Mary on February 25, 2012 7:27 PM

Thanks for posting this recipe! I found it on Pinterest and I reviewed it right here: http://PinEatReview.com/2012/03/02/caramelized-onion-tart-with-gorgonzola-and-brie/. (Naturally I gave you credit and links throughout.) Thanks again! --Denise

So glad you liked it! ~Elise

Posted by: Denise on March 2, 2012 3:27 PM

I apologize for the inconvenience, comments are closed. ~Elise

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