Apple-Onion Tarts

I discovered this recipe while browsing apple recipes on Martha Stewart's website.
Reading comments on recipes are usually helpful and this boisterous review gave me a chuckle, I knew it had to be good:

"Okay, first this: this is really delicious. Secondly, editors, please listen:
THIS IS NOT EVERYDAY FOOD!!!! This is food for when your vegetarian gay boss and his husband come for dinner and you really want to impress them. This is a very labor-intensive recipe. I feel like I was flimflammed by this recipe. I started cooking about 5 pm and didn't serve dinner until freakin' EIGHT PM!!!
I will make it again on a weekend night when I have plenty of time. Jesus."

On this advice, I took a more casual approach and made it over two days, serving at the school pot-luck tonight (always a great testing ground). My recipe is slightly different than the original.

The taster had rave reviews for this one, he requested 3 of them in his school lunch tomorrow! Dad loved them too. We discussed the many possibilities for future tart-making, can't wait to explore them! Good thing, Martha has a tart book which I put on hold at the local library.


Save yourself a day of cooking and make the dough and onion-apple tart filling ahead of time.

It still took me a couple hours to roll out the dough, cut, assemble, crimp and bake them.
The original recipe calls for making 6, 7" rounds. That would be easier but I think this recipe is so rich and savory, they should be made smaller.
I used a 3" heart-shaped cookie cutter instead. The dough didn't stay crimped well after baking. This was apparent after the first 10 minutes. In a rush, I skipped putting them back in the fridge for 30 min before baking. Would this have helped? Not sure. I do like the smaller sizes I made. Perfect appetizer portions. I'd like to buy a pan which holds multiple small tarts for this purpose. Or else, continue using a cookie cutter, which it just fine. Recipe made around 36.

Rosemary-Manchego Tart Dough

Ingredients:

• 3 small parsnips (about 4 ounces), peeled
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup finely grated manchego cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup ice water

Directions

1. Finely grate parsnips (you will need 1/2 cup). Place on a clean kitchen towel (do not use paper towels), and squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible.
2. Pulse parsnip, flour, salt, sugar, pepper, butter, cheese, and rosemary in a food processor. Add yolk, and pulse to combine. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream, processing until dough just comes together (no longer than 15 seconds). Shape into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, halved, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 8 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 cup coarsely grated manchego cheese (2 to 3 ounces)
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil and butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add apples and onions, and cook until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until very soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Make sure to scrape up the brown on the bottom and stir occasionally. Add vinegar and salt, and cook 5 minutes. Let cool.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a generous 1/8 inch thick. I divided the dough into 4 sections when rolling it out. Cut out your desired shape rounds, gathering scraps and rolling dough again if needed. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
3. Puree half the apple-onion mixture in a food processor until smooth.
   
4. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of apple-onion puree over each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border around edges. Sprinkle each with cheese. Season with pepper. Top each with remaining apple-onion mixture, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Fold edges of dough in, crimping with your fingers. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Bake until edges are golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve tarts warm or at room temperature.