Name: Roast onion tarte Tatin with apple and Comté salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 75 gm caster sugar; 40 gm cold salted butter, chopped; 2 tbsp Sherry vinegar; 6 thyme sprigs, plus extra sprigs to serve; 3 large Spanish onions, sliced into 1.5cm-thick rounds; 375 gm sheet butter puff pastry (we use Carême), rolled to 4mm thick and cut to a 25cm round; Apple and Comté salad; 1 witlof, leaves separated; 2 cups (loosely packed) each frisée and watercress sprigs; ¼ cup (loosely packed) chervil; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tbsp hazelnut oil; 2 tsp Dijon mustard; 1 tbsp finely chopped chives; 3 tsp each Sherry vinegar and lemon juice; 1 red apple, thinly sliced on a mandolin; 50 gm Comté, shaved; 50 gm roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Golden, glossy and savoury, this roast onion tarte Tatin shines a spotlight on the humble allium. Layered with sweet, slow-cooked onions and encased in store-bought puff pastry, it’s a clever twist on the classic French dessert — flipped, savoury and reimagined.

The beauty lies in its simplicity: no pastry skills required, just a cast-iron frying pan, a sheet of puff, and a little patience as the onions caramelise to a rich, jammy result. It’s an onion tart that treads the line between buttery depth and bright acidity.

Pair with a crisp apple and Comté salad to cut through the richness, and this onion tart becomes the perfect lunch dish.

Ingredients

75 gm caster sugar

40 gm cold salted butter, chopped

2 tbsp Sherry vinegar

6 thyme sprigs, plus extra sprigs to serve

3 large Spanish onions, sliced into 1.5cm-thick rounds

375 gm sheet butter puff pastry (we use Carême), rolled to 4mm thick and cut to a 25cm round

Apple and Comté salad

1 witlof, leaves separated

2 cups (loosely packed) each frisée and watercress sprigs

¼ cup (loosely packed) chervil

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp hazelnut oil

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp finely chopped chives

3 tsp each Sherry vinegar and lemon juice

1 red apple, thinly sliced on a mandolin

50 gm Comté, shaved

50 gm roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C fan-forced. Scatter sugar evenly over the base of a 25cm-diameter cast-iron frying pan and cook over high heat until sugar begins to dissolve and caramelise around the edges (1-2 minutes). Start swirling pan occasionally to cook sugar evenly (do not stir) until sugar is all caramelised (3-4 minutes). Add butter, vinegar and thyme, swirl to combine (20-30 seconds), then remove from heat. Arrange onions over caramel in a circle, removing outer rings from some onion rounds to fit neatly in a single layer. Cover with puff pastry round, tucking edges down around the onions. Score centre for steam to escape, then bake until pastry is dark golden and puffed (20-25 minutes).

Meanwhile, for salad, place witlof, frisée, watercress and chervil in iced water to crisp (10 minutes). Drain; dry well with a clean tea towel. Place olive oil, hazelnut oil, mustard, chives, vinegar and juice in a large bowl, season to taste and whisk to combine. Add witlof mixture, apple, Comté and hazelnuts; gently toss to dress.

Remove onion tarte Tatin from oven; stand for 1 minute. Place a serving plate on top; shake pan to loosen, then work quickly, invert tart (be careful, hot caramel can drip). Cut tart into wedges, scatter with extra thyme and serve with apple and Comté salad on the side.

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Photography by James Moffatt Photographer

Ingredients

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