We are on the search for economical family meals at the moment (with the current grocery and fuel prices, who isn’t??), and I have been scanning through our shelves to see what we have available. I had a load of onions, and this got me thinking of my grandma’s delicious Onion Pie (called Tart in Australia).
I have so many fond memories of this Onion Pie. My grandma would eat her main meal at lunch times, so if I was over for a visit for the day, this Onion Pie would often be on the menu. The smell of it baking would fill her house, and I knew I was up for a treat! Butter, caramelised onions, heavy cream and cheese—can you get any more comfort eating??
I’m not experienced at making shortcrust pastry, and my grandma’s recipe book wasn’t handing out any clues so I Googled it. I used the first recipe link in the search, and it did the trick. If you are as clueless as me when it comes to making shortcrust pastry, I’ve included the link in the instructions section. The only error I made was to use the one portion over two pies. My pastry ended up being very thin, and I would have preferred a thicker crust.
While the pastry was resting in the fridge I worked on the filling. My grandma recommended sautéing the onions for 10mins, but as I was doubling the recipe I needed to take longer. My onions ended up caramelising on the stove for a little longer than double the amount of time (30mins or so). I recommend taking the time to wait until the onions are soft, cooking at a low enough heat that they don’t burn. This adds to the sweetness of their flavour.
The rest of the recipe was straight forward to make. My only regret was not seasoning the filling enough, so I recommend being generous at this point. Aside from being a little under-seasoned, grandma’s Onion Pie was on point. It was well-received by my family and very morish!
I hope Grandma’s Onion Pie is as comforting, economical and hard to resist for you as it was for us. Enjoy!
- Shortcrust pastry
- 4 White Onions
- 2 tbs butter + extra
- Salt and pepper
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup heavy (thickened) cream
- ½ cup grated cheese
- Parsley to garnish
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C).
- Make shortcrust pastry. (Here’s the link to the recipe I used: https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/basic-shortcrust-pastry/2eb4ad90-1ac0-42ba-9621-adcb7af61f42)
- When pastry is ready for rolling, roll out and place in pie (tart) tin.
- Slice onions finely and place in saucepan with butter.
- Add salt and pepper, cover with lid and sauté for 10mins (or until soft).
- Stir through eggs.
- Stir through cream.
- Pour mixture into pastry case.
- Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter slices.
- Cook in oven for ½ hour.
- Garnish with parsley.
