6.13.2011

Meatless Monday: Spring Onion and Ricotta Fresca Tart with Scapes and Sage

We grew onions for the first time this year and they were the inspiration for this week's Meatless Monday dish. Well, not just our home-grown onions but also our sage, as well as a few ingredients from Sunday's Farmers' Market, namely, a handful of garlic scapes we got for a dollar, and some just-made ricotta fresca from our friends at Beltane Farm in Lebanon, CT. We call it a tart, but the addition of milk and eggs may cause a debate among our foodie friends and readers who may want us to call it a quiche. Suum cuique, we say. All we know for sure is that it was deliciously satisfying.



Home-grown inspiration:
onions (left)
and sage (right)







Bushel of garlic scapes, Coventry Regional Farmers' Market

We allowed the onions and scapes to caramelize in some fresh-sage-infused olive oil with a bit of sugar, salt and balsamic vinegar. Whisking in egg yolks with the whole eggs and milk gave the tart that rich and creamy yet still springy consistency one desires in a tart/quiche-thing. The crumbled ricotta fresca made from goats' milk resisted melting, was milky and sweet, and gave us something to bite into, which meant we hardly noticed it was a meatless dish. Meanwhile, the store-bought refrigerated pie crust made things a bit easier for a "manic" Monday.


Quickly frying the sage leaves makes for infused oil and pretty garnish

Onions and scapes are sprinkled with sugar then caramelized


Egg yolks, eggs, milk and chopped sage about to be whisked together


Ricotta Fresca from Beltane Farm


The ricotta is crumbled over the caramelized onion mixture inside the (raw) pie crust, awaiting the milk and eggs...


Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust, thawed
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 large fresh sage leaves (whole)
2 onions, diced
6 garlic scapes, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tabelspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup milk
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
6 ounces ricotta fresca*

*Note: it so happened that our ricotta was seasoned with chopped chives which enhanced the flavor of the spring onion. If you so desire, chop one or two fresh chives and add them to the mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press the pie crust into a pie plate and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and fry the sage leaves until they are crispy. Carefully remove the sage leaves and place on a paper towel; set aside. Add the chopped scapes and diced onion to the oil and place over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with sugar and cook the onions until they are translucent. Add the salt and balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until caramelization occurs. Spread the onions into the bottom of the pie crust and crumble half of the ricotta fresca over the onions. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, eggs, black pepper and sage. Pour this over the onions and cheese inside the pie crust. Crumble the remaining ricotta into the mixture and place in oven. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until the center of the tart is firm and springy. Serve each slice garnished with a fried sage leaf.


The finished product



12 comments:

Lindselicious said...

I'm so jealous! I wish I had a little garden too. THis looks yummy, love the ricotta and sage in there.

Angela@RecipesFromMyMom said...

So glad you included a shot of a wedge of the tart. I like to see how the filling looks and the layers of egg, cheese and crust.

Susan Lindquist said...

I, too, got spring onions and garlic at farmer's market this past weekend! Fresh eggs and a wonderful jar of mostarda too! Your little egg tart looks wonderful! My onions and garlic went into penne and vegetable fry up ... also a Meatless Monday dish! So glad more folks are going this route!

Kudos!

Raquel @ Erecipe.com said...

I used to grow some vegetables on my garden too, but yours are look great than mine =) last Sunday I harvested some spring onion and used on my porridge...Love that tart.

Kate@Diethood said...

Oh my goodness! I bet this was fantastic!! It looks beautiful!

Adriana said...

What a beautiful tart! The crust looks perfectly rustic, if there is such a thing. I had never thought of growing my own onions... might have to branch out from the balcony garden soon!

flourtrader said...

We have a few garden plants-but no onions yet. The savory tart looks delicious-thanks for sharing!

Juanita said...

A ricotta-filled quiche is such marvelous comfort food!

Kate said...

Let's see. Scapes were in the CSA box. There's a tub of ricotta that needs to be used up. AND, my hubby said yesterday that he'd like to dig into the gorgeous sage in our herb garden. Is this perfect or what??? I'm thinking I'm going to make it tonight for our lunches tomorrow and Thurs. THANKS!!!!!

Peggy said...

We're growing onions this year too! This tart/quiche looks absolutely fantastic and sounds like such an elegant meal =)

kat said...

Tart or quiche, it still sounds yummy!

Carole said...

Yum, thanks for your nice links for this Food on Friday. Happy Holidays.