Caramelised onions & goat cheese tartlets
These caramelised onion and goat cheese tartlets are the perfect appetizer or picnic treat. They can be served warm or at room temperature and made even smaller into canapes.
I was inspired to make these red wine caramelised onion and goat cheese tartlets after seeing a fabulous recipe on What Katie Ate (one of my favourite food blogs). I wanted to add red wine to the onions as I had done with my onion marmalade recipe in my book.
The liquid cooks off and the flavour stays behind adding so much depth. The sweet onions, earthy thyme, and goat cheese on crispy flaky pastry are an all-around winning combination. These tarts are so versatile and perfect to serve on their own as a starter.
When using puff pastry, I have found that it’s best to pre-bake it for 10 minutes before adding the filling. If you don’t, the middle part of the tart doesn’t crisp up as it should. It stays dense and a little soggy.
Score the rim of the puff pastry, pre-bake it, and then press the inner bit (which also puffs up in the initial bake) down, and then add the filling (similar to a vol-au-vent).
I like to use Woolworths all-butter puff pastry sheets. Each pack has two 23cm x 23cm square sheets.
To see my other onion recipes:
No-Knead Focaccia Shallot Pissaladière
Crispy oven-roasted onion rings with a jalapeno dip
Creamed onion gratin with blue cheese
A cheats pissaladiere with baguette
Easy roasted onions with thyme.
This is the final recipe in my short series where onions are the hero of the dish.
A few other goat cheese appetizers you might like:
Roast cherries with whipped goat’ cheese dip
Caramelised onion & goat’s cheese tartlets
Goat’s cheese truffles with honey & pistachios
Dukkah baked pears with goat’s cheese & honey
Red wine caramelised onions & goat cheese tartlets
Ingredients
- 3 onions thinly sliced
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 cup of red wine
- 3 T brown sugar
- 3 – 4 sprigs of thyme leaves removed and a few extra for garnishing each tart
- Salt & black pepper
- 2 sheets of puff pastry 23c x 23cms 1 pack of Woolies all butter puff
- 200 g goats cheese 25g per tartlet
- splash of milk to brush the pastry rim
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions over a low heat until softened but not browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add ½ the red wine and deglaze the pan, allowing all the liquid to cook off.
- Add the sugar, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the remainder of the red wine and once again continue cooking and stirring until the liquid has cooked off.
- Place your puff pastry sheets on a floured surface and cut out the circles to desired size. You could also cut the pastry into 4 x squares. This way you better optimise the pastry sheet with no wastage through offcuts. This recipe makes 8 tartlets that are 8cm in diameter.
- Score the inside of the pastry with a small cookie cutter or a knife, but don’t cut all the way through, to make a small rim.
- Brush the rim of each case lightly with milk, or and egg and milk mix (I find the egg just makes it a little darker but isn’t entirely necessary), and bake in a oven that has been preheated to 180C for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and press down on the inner circle piece so that it drops down, it should come away where you have scored it, and fill each pastry case with the caramelised onion.
- Top with the goats cheese (you can either crumble this or cut into discs), scatter over fresh thyme leaves and return to the oven to bake for a further 20 minutes.
Notes
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oh yum! these look divine. I can see myself doing these in a huge mushroom as well 🙂 thanks for the link love Sam xox
Thanks Tandy, I’m SO making the tatin soon x
yum yum…all these onion recipes are really inspiring me to do some cooking this weekend.
I HAD to come by and comment after I saw these on Pinterest. Gorgeous little things Sam!! I love love caramelised onion tarts and make a version spiked with thyme, red wine and crumbled goat’s cheese that I found in Annabel Langbein’s cookbook. Now I want one of these!!!
The humble onion really is underrated, yet its so delicious if done correctly, like here! That looks amazing
Beautiful photos! I love tartlets, these look irresistible.
Yum!! That pastry looks so flaky and delicious. I’ve never caramelized onions in red wine, but I am going to need to try it after seeing this!
Hi and thanks Sneh, all round such great flavours. I add so much wine, but love them like that.
Hi Brandon *waves* 🙂
Thank you kindly Laura.
Go for it Lauren and let me know how it goes.
I love caramelizing onions with wine (or with balsamic vinegar) and it’s fun to see how you’ve combined them with goat cheese. I think anything with goat cheese is good 🙂
These look delicious ! I am going to make these and photograph them…..this week !
I loved this onion series of recipes, Sam!
I love to make this tart often( I sometimes sub the goat cheese for feta or bits of roasted pupmkin with sage leaves) Onions are magical things, the natural sweetness is often overlooked. Wonderful photos, I hope you post more tart recipes!
Your tarts look and sound so delicious! I absolutely love the sound of the goats cheese, caramelised onion and red wine combination! I can’t wait to try making these 🙂
Thanks Rosie, enjoy!
HI Belinda, I’m sure I will going forward.
Thanks Zirkie, I had so much fun with it….wanted to do many more too.
I did a very similar recipe too but used shortcrust instead of puff pastry, I have to say that the puff pastry looks very light and yummy, thanks for sharing! I will definitely try your recipe 🙂
This looks delicious 🙂 Can any of this recipe be made in advance, such as baking the puff pastry, and then filling just before serving? Thank you!
Hi Elaine, the filling can be made in advance. Puff pastry is best warm out the oven, and the pie is best cold with the filling and cheese already baked.
Hi Sam,
For the tartlets, In the interest of spending more time with my guests, just need to clarify:
I can make the onion mixture in advance,
I can bake the pastry (shells) in advance,
Tartlets are best assembled, baked (20 min) and served WARM
Thanks
Sian 🙂
Hi Sian. Yes make the onion in advance. But I woulod do the pre baking and then the main baking just before serving. Really quite quick.
Hi Sam
Did you use red onions for this one?
Thanks
Hi Carly – I thnk I used brown onions (white) if I remember correctly but think red onions would be awesome too.
Hi Sam, the T for olive oil and brown sugar what spoon measurement is this please.
HI Amanda T is tablespoon and t is teaspooon. I have changed that to Tbsp and tsp in more recent recipes.
These look delish. Could I prepare & freeze them after assembling, then just add the goat’s cheese before re-heating? I am catering for a large party, these would be a great vegetarian option.
Hi Kylie, I wouldn’t recommend this for a puff pastry. It is really at its best when its made fresh.
Hi Sam,
I am doing these for a “round the world school fair” tomorrow, representing France (me) and SA (my husband). Now I can’t use alcohol, can I substitute wine for balsamic vinegar and water?
Hi Rachel, you can use red wine vinegar and a little water. Just a nite that the alcohol totally cooks off in the onions so there is zero alcohol content by the time the onions are cooked.