A toss-up between a quiche and a savory tart, this cheddar, spinach, and caramelized onion tart is perfect for brunch, lunch, dinner, or whatever meal you care to serve it for! Serve alongside a light salad or a bed of roasted vegetables to make it a complete meal.
Cheddar, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart

So, I learned recently that breakfast is actually not the most important meal of the day.

Outwardly, I was flabbergasted! Appalled! ENRAGED. All appropriate responses to having been lied to for my entire life.

But inwardly I was kind of doing cartwheels because: brunch – it’s been you all along.

Cheddar, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart

In reality breakfast isn’t the most important meal because there is no “Most Important Meal”. They’re all important, in their own way blah blah blah.

Fine, so maybe brunch isn’t the most important either BUT it is the best and I refuse to hear anything to the contrary. If only I had the schedule flexibility to be anywhere but the hospital at 10AM every day, I would eat it on the regular and my quality of life would be a gazillion times better.

Instead I’ll just have to make savory eggy tarts on a weekly basis and pretend I’m brunching while eating them for every meal of the day. <– not a bad compromise.

Cheddar, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart

THIS TART!

It has the easiest pastry crust that I’ve ever worked with + a layer of caramelized onions + spinach (a whole pound! for health!) + a cheesy custard topping. It SCREAMS brunch, but also breakfast/lunch/dinner/allthesnacks and there were truly days when I ate it for multiple of those. No regrets.

Cheddar, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart
 
A toss-up between a quiche and a savory tart, this cheddar, spinach, and caramelized onion tart is perfect for brunch, lunch, dinner, or whatever meal you care to serve it for! Serve alongside a light salad or a bed of roasted vegetables to make it a complete meal.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry
  • 2¼ cups all purpose flour
  • 10½ tbsp cold butter, cubed
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • pinch of salt
For the filling
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 lb onions, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly slicd
  • 1 lb spinach
  • 2 large eggs + 3 large egg yolks
  • 1½ cups heavy cream
  • 2 tsp English mustard
  • 5 oz mature cheddar, grated
Instructions
  1. For the pastry, combine the flour, butter, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms coarse breadcrumbs. Add in the egg yolks and 3-4 tbsp of ice cold water, adding the water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together. Remove from the processor and pat the dough into a thick disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the butter for the filling in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and add the onions and garlic to the pot along with a little salt. Cook until slightly golden, about 5-7 minutes, then add a splash of water and cover. Allow to sweat over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove the cover and allow to cook until any excess liquid evaporates, another few minutes.
  3. For the spinach, cook it in a covered pot with a splash of water just to steam it until wilted. Place in a strainer to drain and cool.
  4. Heat oven to 350F.
  5. Roll out the chilled pastry dough to a 13-inch round and line a 10- or 11-inch deep dish pie or tart plate with it. Place back in the fridge and chill for another 20 minutes.
  6. Once chilled, line the pie with parchment paper and fill with baking beans or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and beans and bake for another 7-10 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the filling.
  7. Once the spinach is cool, squeeze the excess moisture out of it using a clean kitchen towel. Roughly chop it and add it to the onions. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
  8. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, heavy cream, and mustard. Season with salt and black pepper.
  9. Spread the onion/spinach mixture over the tart crust. Sprinkle the grated cheese over it and then pour in the egg mixture.
  10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set in the middle and starting to brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Recipe from How To Eat A Peach

 

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7 Responses to Cheddar, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart

  1. Kate says:

    Any meal with cheese and spinach is really the most important meal of the day if you ask me.

  2. Meg says:

    Looks fantastic! I love making tarts/quiches because they reheat so well, too. We tend to make one for a dinner one night, then have several days’ worth of breakfasts!

  3. Pam says:

    I love brunch too. You had me at caramelized onions – the tart looks amazing.

  4. phyllis says:

    Please let me know what “baking beans” are. I will definitely make this in a day or so. Thank you.

    • joanne says:

      Hi Phyllis! They are basically just a filler to put in the pie crust while baking and weigh it down so that it doesn’t try to rise. I literally just have a pound of beans that I’ve been using as “baking beans” for years. When I’m ready to blind bake the crust (ie bake it without the actual filling in it), I put a piece of parchment paper on top of it and then fill it with my pound of beans. Once I’m done blind baking, I set the beans aside to let them cool and then store them in a jar to reuse them. You can also use rice for this same purpose!

  5. We love brunch too and if fact we never eat breakfast ! But your tart sounds wonderful and we love quiche/ tart for all meals – and especially ones with caramelized onions which we adore!

  6. This looks delicious! My parents have hens so “breakfast”/eggs are a pretty regular weeknight meal. I worked hard to get the toddler onto eggs. They’re too quick/cheap/easy to not be a dinner!

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