A Say, Say, Savory Onion, Cheese and Bacon Tart
If it's fair to mock Diane Keaton for ordering pastrami on white bread with mayo in "Annie Hall," then it's fair to mock me for not knowing much about savory tarts and quiche-like items. In my Jewish upbringing both in New York and Boca Raton, Florida I never encountered a savory tart or a quiche. Naturally, I'm sure I'll get a flood of responses: "I'm Jewish and I ate quiche every day!" "My name is Shlomo Quichey and I resent everything you stand for." Fair enough. I'm just saying from my experience, at many Jewish people's homes, Bar Mitzvahs and buffet tables there wasn't a savory tart or quiche in site. Satisfied?
My point is that savory tarts and quiches are unfamiliar to me. They are difficult for me to wrap my brain around: who would want to eat something that looks like a pie that isn't sweet? It isn't human. It isn't right.
But it just so happened that at the end of last week I found, in my refrigerator, bacon, eggs and cheddar cheese. I entered those ingredients into Epicurious and came up with this, a fabulously well-reviewed bacon, egg and cheese tart. I had all of the ingredients. My interest was piqued. And as I said, this was fabulously well-reviewed. People wrote things like: "I was suicidal and this tart saved my life"; "This tart is better than my child. I sent my child to camp so I could spend more time with this tart."
So for the specific tart-making directions, follow the recipe link. Here's a vague overview.
First, you make and bake the tart crust:
I had some trouble, but I overcame.
Then you fry up some bacon:
In the bacon fat, you cook up onions (that's a genius move). Then you add the onions to the tart:
Now to the onions, you add the bacon, cheese (I had cheddar, the recipe requires the other kind), and a cream mixture with nutmeg and other flavors.
You bake for a while and it comes out looking like this:
I must say, the result was truly excellent. The bacony, carmelized onions are transcendent, and the consistency of everything else--the egg/cream mixture, the tart dough--is sheer perfection. This is a savory tart for the savory tart doubter.
As you can see in the top pic, I served it with an arugula, yellow cherry tomato salad simply dressed with olive oil, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper. 'Twas a winning dinner served with a crisp white wine. Was also a winning lunch served the next day without wine because I'm not a drunkard. As for how this new affection for savory tarts affects my religious affiliations, all I have to say is that Mel Gibson is my Co-Pilot! Now we're all in trouble.
