4 lg Spanish onions
2 c Sour cream
4 tb Sugar
1 ds Liquid smoke; (optional)
2 oz Bacon bits; (or substitute)
4 tb Unsalted butter
6 Eggs; beaten
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Uncooked 9 inch shells of
-your favorite pie crust
Peel and slice the onions, across the rings, in slices about 1/2 inch wide,
and then cut again in 90 degrees so that you have pieces roughly 1/2 inch
wide by 1 1/2 inch long. Melt butter in a large, heavy iron skillet, or in
a heavy Dutch oven, until bubbling. Add all the onions and saute on high
heat. When onions turn slightly brown, add the sugar and a dash of liquid
smoke and then continue to brown the onions. Continue stirring the mixture,
cooking until the onions are a rich chocolate brown in color. This may take
up to 30 minutes but is the key to the full flavor of the authentic tarte.
Set the onions aside to cool. Beat the eggs and blend in the sour cream,
salt and pepper. When the pan that you used to cook the onions are cool
enough to touch, add the egg and sour cream mixture. Whisk together well,
picking up all the browned coating on the pan as you do. Distribute the
combined eggs, cream and onions equally into the two uncooked pie shells.
Sprinkle the bacon bits on top and bake in a 400 degree oven for one hour
or until the top of the pie is a rich golden brown and the crust is crisp.
Serve immediately. Excellent as a main course for lunch or brunch or as a
starter for formal dinners. Hints: Onions may be sauteed a day in advance
and the final preparation begun just prior to baking. Pre-baked pie crusts
are not recommended since the long cooking time for the quiche mixture
might cause the exposed crust to become burnt. The liquid smoke provides a
very authentic flavor to the tarte since the Alsatians normally bake this
quiche in wood ovens.
Yields
6 Servings