Upcycling Pastry Scraps into a Delicious Caramelised Onion Tart – Easy Method
This technique offers a speedy version on pissaladière, transforming some leftover of pastry scraps into a quick treat. Keep and gather any trimmings into a round mass and roll out again whenever needed. Pastry freezes beautifully in the freezer compartment, and by skipping two laborious procedures in the classic preparation – creating the dough and caramelizing the onions – this recipe assembles in nearly half the time. Alternatively, the onions are cooked flipped, steaming and caramelising below a layer of dough with small fish and black olives for a fast, playful variation on a traditional French dish. In case you have less pastry, you can always cut down the ingredients.
Speedy Flipped Pissaladière Tarts
The recent popularity of flipped tarts, which went viral on social media and Instagram a couple of years ago, may have originated with a delicious and simple sweet pastry creation or an creative pastry dish that even inspired a complete guide on upside-down cooking. Personally, I’ve been experimenting with flipped preparations recently, from an lengthy vegetable pastry to these fast mini French tarts. It’s a straightforward, creative method to create something that feels extra-special.
Yields 4 individual tarts
- 1 red onion
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- Kosher salt and peppercorns
- 8 salted fish (or 4, for a subtler taste profile)
- Dark pitted olives, to taste
- 120g pastry sheets – light or shortcrust is suitable too
Preheat the stove to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Strip and trim the onion, then chop into four large, circular pieces. Prepare a stovetop-safe oven sheet with non-stick paper, then imagine where you will place each round of onion. Sprinkle those areas with oil and honey, then add salt and pepper. Put two anchovies on top of each flavored patch and layer them with a slice of onion. Arrange a few dark olives among the onions, then season with a additional olive oil, nectar, salt and pepper.
Turn on two adjacent stovetop elements to a moderate temperature, put the pan on top of the burners and leave the onions to heat undisturbed for five minutes.
At the same time, on a sprinkled with flour counter, spread the sheets and slice it into four pieces sufficiently sized to top each round of onion. Gently put one pastry square on top of each slice of onion, press down on the perimeter with the flat side of a tool, then bake for twenty minutes, until the dough is browned. Set a serving platter on top of the hot pan, then invert to flip the tarts on to the plate. Slowly remove the paper and present.
