Caramelized Onion, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Puff Pastry Tart

Caramelized Onion, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Puff Pastry Tart

Caramelized onions with bacon and puff pastry and blue cheese! It’s kind of like a pizza, except the crust is flakey, buttery, crumbly puff pastry, and the sauce/cheese are combined into one in a terribly delicious, creamy, blue cheese spread. Then the whole thing is topped with balsamic onions and crispy bacon—yes, it’s as effing incredible as it sounds.

It makes a fantastic appetizer, or you can serve a few pieces as a meal with a fresh, green salad and a glass of red wine.

If you happen to have some fresh thyme or sage on hand (like I didn’t), I think they would be lovely either sprinkled over top, or mixed into the blue cheese spread.

By the way, you could always make the caramelized onion, spread, and bacon a day ahead of time, then assemble and bake the tart the day you want to serve it, just to save a bit of time.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 medium sweet onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch squares, and cooked
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in the onions and a big pinch of kosher salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-35 minutes until cooked down and caramelized (you may need to adjust the heat during the cooking process, so they don't burn). Stir the balsamic vinegar into the onions.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and position the rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and blue cheese with some salt and pepper.
3. On a lightly-floured work surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 14x10-inch rectangle. Fold 1/2 to 1 inch of the edges in toward the center on all sides. Transfer to large baking sheet.
4. Spread the sour cream and blue cheese mixture into the center of the pastry, and to the edges. Add the caramelized onions evenly over the top, followed by the bacon.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked, and the toppings are bubbly. Allow to cool slightly, and cut into 12 pieces.