Sweet Potato, Goat Cheese and Balsamic Onion Tart

There aren’t a lot of things that smell better than onions slowly caramelizing in butter.

I’m not necessarily telling you all of this just so that you are immediately aware (if you weren’t before) of the joys of butter and onions slowly cooked together until they harmonize into something so sweet and so soft it’s almost spreadable. Rather, I am writing this to let my future self know that if I ever have a bad day, the first thing I should do is start caramelizing some onions.

Caramelized onions were part of my dinner plans for tonight anyway. Slicing my hand open as a glass I was washing shattered in my grip was not. I held my hand above my head for an hour, contemplated stitches and bemoaned the time I was wasting on my stupid finger when I could have been: 1) Blogging, 2) Doing the online crossword puzzle, 3) Grocery shopping. I was kind of glad that I got to stop doing the dishes and that Alex did them for me when he got home, but that’s beside the point.

Luckily, caramelized onions changed all that. Sure, I still have a pretty impressive gash in the back of my hand, and sure, when I spilled the boiling soup that was supposed to be my lunch all over myself, including said gash, I still let off a string of expletives that would make a sailor blush, but when I think about the caramelized onions… well… none of that really seems to matter anymore.

I suppose I should move on: you see, caramelized onions were not meant to be our whole dinner. I love them, but not that much. Rather, the onions were one layer in a tart that I was constructing with sweet potatoes, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.

Served simply with a green salad (as are so many things in my kitchen), this was our dinner. The potatoes were thinly sliced and turned crispy on the top, guarding the goat cheese and allowing it to melt through the caramelized onions. The crust was a homemade one that I seasoned with black pepper, and the butteriness of it made it somewhat decadent for a weeknight…

I deserve it. I’m wounded.

Sweet Potato, Goat’s Cheese and Balsamic Onion Tart

For the crust:
1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
8 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
cold water

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cut the cold butter into the flour, using your fingertips to rub it together until it is pebbly. Add cold water by the tablespoon, gently incorporating it, until the dough just comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to use. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

For the filling:
1 sweet potato, thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
60 g. (about 2 ounces) goat’s cheese
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. olive oil, separated
1 tbsp. butter
salt and pepper

Begin by heating the butter and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the onions and the vinegar and season with salt. Allow them to cook and gently caramelize for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool slightly before assembling the tart.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Assemble the tart by rolling out the dough and placing it in the bottom of a pie pan. Spread the onions over the dough, moving quickly so that the butter in the dough does not melt. Sprinkle the goat cheese evenly over the onion layer. Then, assemble the rounds of sweet potato in circles over the cheese layer. Press down lightly, and season with salt, pepper, and the remaining teaspoon of oil.

Bake for thirty minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the potatoes are cooked through.