Chicken and Caramelized Onion Tart

I spent the day looking through Laura Calder's French Food at Home cookbook, a favorite of mine, and by the time I got home, I really wanted some French food! I had about a cup of rotisserie chicken sitting in the fridge and a bowl of huge onions waiting in the pantry. Voila! It was tart time!! I modified Laura Calder's recipe a bit to match the ingredients in my pantry, but that is exactly what she is all about - using ingredients you have to make fabulous food! And that is exactly what this tart is all about. It is creamy, rich and velvety with a delightfully flaky crust! Pair it with a simple salad (I did spinach, orange segments and blue cheese) and you have a completely wonderful meal!

Chicken and Caramelized Onion Tart
Ingredients:

Plain Pastry:
1.5 cups AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
7 tbs chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 tbs ice-cold water

1. Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter. Pulse until it resembles coarse meal. Add the water and pulse until a soft dough forms and the dough pulls away from the bowl.

2. Roll out on a lightly floured board and fit into a 9, 10 or 11 inch leaving at least 1.5 - 2 inches overlap over the tart shell. Put in the refrigerator until filling is ready.

Filling:
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 large onions (1 red and 1 yellow), sliced
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Dried thyme, sage and basil
1 cup, chopped rotisserie chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add the butter and olive oil. Add the onions and immediately add salt to draw out the moisture. Cook until softened and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook for a few minutes until the mixture is thick. Add the chicken. Stir around and add the vinegar and season with salt, pepper, and the dried herbs.

2. Put the filling in the tart shell and even out. Take the overlapping edges and fold it in, scalloping the edges as you go, so it forms a bit of a lip over the tart filling. See pictures below...







Bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the onions are browned on top.

3. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove the sides from the tart and cut into slices. Serve immediately.