Shallot confit tart

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 1 tart, you will need:

• 1 750 g shallot
• 2 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 200 ml liquid cream
• 4 100 g Époisses
• 5 4 slices cured ham
• 6 200 g Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)
• 7 salt
• 8 pepper
• Total weight: 1,470 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
35 min.	1 hour 55 min.	2 hours 25 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Peel 750 g shallot, rinse and slice medium thick (about 1/4 inch or 4-5 cm). A mandolin is ideal for this. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
2	Spread the shallot slices on a baking sheet (or more than one) in a single layer. Coat them with oil using a brush, then salt lightly and pepper. Turn the slices over and do the same on the other side.
3	Put in the oven to "confit" for about 1 hour. Set aside. Turn the oven up to 430°F (220°C).
4	Pour 200 ml liquid cream into a small saucepan on medium heat and bring to the boil.
5	Add 100 g Époisses, cut into pieces, and stir until melted in. Do not add any salt, as the cheese should be salty enough, but pepper generously. Then check the seasoning. Set aside.
6	Lay 4 slices cured ham out flat on a baking sheet...
7	...and grill lightly in the oven for just 3 or 4 minutes. Set aside.
8	Roll out 200 g Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée), prick all over with a pique-vite (pastry pricker) and line the tart tin or mould.
9	Lay the ham slices evenly across the bottom.
10	Pour the cream and Époisses mixture over.
11	Finish with a layer of shallot confit.
12	Bake low in the overn (better for the puff pastry) for about 40 minutes. Do watch that the pastry does not brown too much.
13	Serve hot or warm with a good green salad and vinaigrette (french dressing).

Remarks

You can use onions instead of shallots in this recipe, but do remember that onions have quite a sweet flavour when prepared as a confit.
If you don't have puff pastry, use shortcrust pastry instead, though the effect will be less refined.
You can also use a different cheese instead of Époisses, but try to opt for one with a similar soft past, such as Roblochon.

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