Alternative titles for this post:
the best thing I’ve ever eaten that one time I ate an entire onion tart myself (just kidding – but I could have!) sweet goodness in a pie crust do I have to share?
This Vidalia onion tart with bacon and thyme – aka the best thing I’ve ever eaten – is another creation that my mom and I came up with. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but my mom and I love to cook together. We just have a blast and we work together so well. In fact, she’s one of the few people that I truly, truly enjoy cooking with. Other people just get on my nerves. Just kidding – I love everyone. Just not in my kitchen.
I’ve teamed up with Vidalia® Onions to bring you this tart recipe and also roasted Italian sausage with Vidalia onions and vegetables. So good! I swear, every time I partner with a brand, I learn something new. It’s one of my favorite things about blogging. Here are some tidbits about Vidalia onions that I found really interesting and I hope you do too:
The soil in the fields of South Georgia are what give Vidalia onions their sweet flavor. This was discovered when farmers first planted onions there in the 1930s during the Great Depression. To their surprise, the onions they planted turned out to be “sweet” instead of hot like regular onions. The discovery of our now-famous sweet onions was actually a fluke! Crazy, right? Vidalia onions are only grown in 20 Georgia counties – only these sweet onions can be called Vidalia onions (Hint: look for the number 4159 on the small sticker that’s on each onion to make sure it’s a true Vidalia onion). For over 20 years, the Vidalia onion has been the Official State Vegetable of Georgia. I had no idea! President Jimmy Carter presented Vidalia onions as White House gifts. (I’d take that!) About 12,000 acres of Vidalia onions are planted each year – all by hand! About 5-million 40 pound boxes of Vidalia onions are shipped out each season. Vidalia onions are fat-free, low in calories and a good source of vitamin C.
I think learning more about the food we eat makes it so much more enjoyable. Maybe that makes me a nerd but I’m okay with that. Let’s talk a little more about this tart though. After you fry up some bacon, you’ll save the grease and cook the sliced onions in bacon grease. By cooking them for a good amount of time, you’ll be adding to their sweetness and giving this tart an unbelievably addicting flavor. Add in some baby kale and fresh thyme for both color and flavor. The last thing you’ll stir in is some feta. Because you should always add cheese in situations like these.
Pile the filling on a pie crust and fold the edges of the pastry over the filling . Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect because you’re going for kind of a rustic look here. After it comes out of the oven, the onion tart will look pretty juicy. Give it 10 minutes to let the juices reabsorb and thicken. Then just try and hold yourself back from eating the whole thing. I dare ya.
Verdict: OH MY GOODNESS YOU GUYS. Stop what you’re doing and go out and buy the ingredients for this Vidalia onion tart! It’s ridiculously good and it’s totally healthy because there is kale. Husband’s take: The man is not a major onion fan, but he went back for thirds. Changes I would make: None. NONE. Difficulty: Moderate. I know my recipes are almost always easy, but this one is completely worth a teensy tiny bit of extra effort. And it’s really not tooooo terribly hard. Just read through the recipe ahead of time, prep everything and be gentle when folding the pie crust over. Try to avoid holes. We had one small hole and only lost a tiny bit of filling/juice. This recipe is completely doable. Do it! No seriously, do it. You can find out more about Vidalia Onions on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Youtube. Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Vidalia Onions. I have been compensated for my time but as always, all opinions are my own! I want to eat this tart all day every day. Thanks for supporting Rachel Cooks by reading about brands I use and love!
