On FB a fellow food blogger commented that by 5pm she’s so exhausted by her day in the kitchen that she can barely come up with a single thing for dinner. Oh, the irony. Truth be told, at my house there are typically 3 (or more) desserts on the counter, along with several loaves of homemade bread, but when it comes time to eat dinner I am scrambling around to cook something, anything. On any given night I would not call my meals inspired. I love to cook, but after a day of “working” (baking all the desserts and breads that are sitting on the counter cooling), I don’t always leave myself enough time to make something creative, tasty, and healthy. I have vowed in the past to widen my savory repertoire and as a result have made Julia‘s Beef Bourguignon, The Smitten Kitchen
‘s meatloaf and short ribs, American Masala
‘s lamb burgers and The Splendid Table
‘s lasagna to wild raves from my family, but I mostly find myself trying to answer my kids’ hungry requests for dinner, with a blank stare. I tell them we have a “European” eating schedule, since I usually manage to get a meal on the table by 8pm, ok usually later. I know this isn’t ideal and I am saying it in front of all of you, “I will try at least one NEW savory recipe a week (this is so doable) AND I’ll get it on the table by 7pm (8pm at the latest).
Here I go, a tasty beginning to a more savory life. I admit, onion tarts aren’t exactly a meal, but we have to start somewhere and appetizers are a great way to keep my kids happy until I can get the rest of the meal figured out. A sheet of puff pastry, an onion, some herbs, cherry tomatoes, French olives, and a very soft feta all happened to be in my refrigerator and came together in a beautiful little treat. Try this combination, but really these tarts are a quick and easy way to clean out the little jars of yummy morsels in your cupboards.
Onion Tarts
4 tablespoons olive oil
12 small thyme sprigs
24 olives, cut in half
12 cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion – try to find small ones that will fit in the bottom of the muffin tins, cut into thin circles
1 sheet Puff Pastry
1/2 cup soft feta, goat cheese or ricotta
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar – the sweeter the better
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400°F
Divide the olive oil, thyme, olives, and tomatoes in the bottom of 12 muffin cups.
Cover with a slice of the onion.
Using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles of the puff pastry (the circles should be slightly bigger than the top of the muffin cup since they will shrink in the oven) and place over the onion.
Gently push the pastry over the onions, so they are a snug fit.
Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown…
and well puffed.
Allow to cool for just a moment before inverting onto a tray.
Add the cheese, drizzle with balsamic, add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Now these I could easily make a meal of!
So true Laura,
I forgot to mention this is not a single serving, even though I may have eaten most of the batch! 😉
Cheers, Zoë
These look soo delicious, Zoe, and I love how easy they look from the pictures. will definitely try them this summer!
Yum! And may I say that I love a rather ratty-looking baking pan! It speaks of use, not an element of decor. I salute you, Z! (Still a good 2 weeks from having a kitchen!! Grrrrr. If I have any Fair entries it may be a miracle!)
These are gorgeous! And such a perfect quick appetizer for a dinner party. Good luck on your savory mission 🙂
Hi Zoe, you listed balsamic vinegar in the recipe. When do you put that in?
Perfect for Vidalia’s~!! Another yummie Zoe thing~!! ;;+}
What a great idea. I could make these and impress people.
Brilliant.
These are just so beautiful.
I can relate very well to the scenario at your house – I often cook hurried and uninspired meals because I’m juggling so many things all day long. In order to push myself into widening my repertoire I tried doing ‘theme weeks’ for a month or so: for any given week all I will make is food from one specific cuisine. It wasn’t sustainable beyond a month for various reasons but think of all the fun it can be. I’m going to go back to it this summer.
squisite ma senza cipolla, buon w.e.
These look so delicious! Yum! Now that I developed a flaky gluten-free croissant recipe, I’ll have to give these a go. Thanks for sharing!
That looks so good! Drooling!
R
Just made these for my book club. I did them in a mini cupcake tin. So I had to adapt things a little but they smelled delicious and they were delicious! I cut the olive and tomato smaller, put pieces of onion instead of an entire slice. Worked great. My only problem was my cutter should have been larger. Next time! The best part I assembled ahead of time and stuck in the oven about 15 minutes before everyone was to arrived. They took about 18 minutes.
I just made these in mini muffin tins and used shallots (they were closer in size). However, some of mine puffed up REALLY high. I’m wondering if I didn’t roll my puff pastry thin enough? I used homemade puff pastry. How thin should I have rolled it?
Thanks for the delicious recipe!
I made petit versions of these little gems the other night for hors d’oevres, and they just might be the single most wonderfully decadent little bite I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting (and serving). They’re absolutely brilliant! Thank you!