Onion Tatin

Ingredients

• 2 onions (approximately 130g each)
• 40g caster sugar
• 40ml water
• ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves
• 1 shop-bought sheet/block of puff pastry
• olive oil

Preparation Time: 30 minutes + 10 minutes for the pastry
Cooking Time: 15 minutes + 20 minutes for the pastry
Serves: 4

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°c.
2. Remove the stem and root from the onion, peel it and chop it in half widthways.
3. Line four patty tins with squares of greaseproof paper big enough to roughly cover the base of the tin.
4. In a pan, place the sugar and water and, over a medium heat, stir the sugar until it dissolves.
5. Turn up the heat and boil the syrup without stirring until the water has evaporated and it has become a golden brown caramel (it should reach a temperature of 161°c).
6. caramel should be this colour when put onto a white plate:
7. Immediately put a teaspoon of the caramel into the lined tins (it will set very hard in a very short amount of time).
8. Sprinkle the thyme leaves onto the caramel, place the largest cut side of the onion face down into the tins, season it with salt & pepper and brush it with a little olive oil.
9. Place the tins on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
11. Roll out the puff pastry to a thinkness of roughly ½cm, cut out four circles the same size as the patty tin and prick all over with a fork.
12. Lay the pastry circles over the onion in the tin and push down the sides so that the onion is completely enclosed by the pastry.
13. Bake in the oven for a further 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden in colour.
14. Remove from the oven, carefully flip the patty tins over onto the baking tray and remove the tin, using the greaseproof paper if necessary. (This should be done quickly as the caramel can cool and harden, making it difficult to take off the tin. If this happens, just put them back into the oven for 30 seconds to re-melt the caramel.)
15. Take off the greaseproof paper and serve immediately.

Back to top

Useful Information

Can it be frozen? Yes.
Can it be prepared in advance? Yes, it can be finished up to 3 hours in advance.
Will leftovers be nice? No.

Notes