Recipe: Alsatian-Inspired Onion Tart

And the utterly unromantic story that led me to make it

Hello and happy weekend!

I wish I could say that I first tasted this tart in France, in the Alsace region where it originated — perhaps at a picnic, wearing a linen dress, sipping a glass of dry Riesling. I’m lucky to have some stories like this one: romantic moments when I discovered certain foods, like my first bowl of tortellini in brodo on a brisk day in Bologna. I regret to inform you that this story is not one of them. The truth is that I first tasted this tart from a Trader Joe’s box, heated up from frozen, in my suburban Massachusetts hometown.

The Trader Joe’s Tarte d’Alsace features a thin, round puff pastry crust topped with crème fraîche, ham, lightly caramelized onions, and Gruyère. The toppings are somewhat sparse, and the tart always takes longer than the box suggests for the crust to crisp up. Its flavor is lovely, however, and when served with a simple salad, it might be the most sophisticated meal the Trader Joe’s frozen section has ever produced. 

I recently had the revelation that, with a smidge of effort, I could make a much better, richer version of the tart at home. And don’t worry: it’s not too fussy. Although I experimented with homemade puff pastry (which is much simpler than you might think!), I determined that frozen puff pastry saves enough time and mess to make it worth the swap. I used bacon instead of ham because…bacon. Need I say more?

The longest task in the recipe is caramelizing the onions, but it’s also the most pleasurable one. I love to nudge the onions around a skillet with a wooden spoon, watching as they darken in color and tasting as they become rich and sweet.

This tart suits both winter and spring. I want to eat it hot from the oven at home on a cold evening, and I want to eat it at room temperature on a sunny day in the park. I hope you’ll make it, or at least feel inspired to buy the Trader Joe’s version. As long as you’re eating more buttery pastry and caramelized onions, I’m happy.

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Alsatian-Inspired Onion Tart