Preparation time: 35–40 minutes
Makes enough to share, or have leftovers
• 1/3 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• spoonful of butter
• 1 heaping tbsp dark brown sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• leaves from 2 sprigs thyme
• 6 anchovies
• 6 oil-cured black olives
• milk, for brushing the pastry edges
As delicious a lunch as you will ever eat. As long as you’re not running too late, it is actually possible to make this before you leave the house in the morning, without arriving at work with pieces of onion in your hair (it’s a good thing to make when you’ve had an early night and feel rested). Delicious on its own or with some lettuce on the side.
First things first—and by that we mean before you even start the coffee pot—turn on your oven to 400°F and remove the puff pastry from the fridge, unwrapping it from its packaging but not, of course, unrolling it.
Add the oil to a pan, place on a medium heat and add the onions. You want them to become mushy and a deep golden-brown color, but at the same time, if you’re making this in the morning, you don’t want to hang around, so keep them on a medium to high heat (but take care that they don’t burn). Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Tip: when you’re not using the spoon, don’t leave it in the pan. As a chef once said to us, “you don’t want to cook the spoon.”
Add the butter, sugar, and salt and pepper and stir. Adding a splash or two of water will help to prevent the onions burning and creates a saucy consistency. Add the thyme, and leave to cook for 15 minutes, again making sure that the onions don’t burn and adding more water if necessary.
Carefully unroll a section of the sheet of puff pastry and, using scissors, cut the section away from the rest of the roll, through the pastry and the paper it comes on, the same way you would cut off a piece of wrapping paper. Keep the rectangle of pastry on the paper. Now, choose the receptacle that you are going to use to transport the tart (square or rectangular Tupperware or tin would be ideal) and place it face down on the pastry. Using a sharp knife, cut around the edge, discarding the extra pastry. Fold over each of the sides of the pastry by 1/2 in (going towards the inside), so that you create a ridged edge around the outside of the tart. Transfer your tart to a baking tray, and poke the base with a fork—this will stop the middle bit rising. You want the edges to rise to create a crust, so don’t poke those.
When your onions are nice and soft, take off the heat and spoon the mixture on to your pastry base, taking care not to go over the edge of the border. Smooth it with a knife so that the surface is evenly covered. Place your anchovies on the top in a lattice or criss-cross pattern, adding the olives in between the diamonds. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk, and bake for 12 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden.
Packing your pastry
You can simply wrap your tart in lots of foil, put it in a bag and hope for the best, but you will have a stressful (though delicious smelling) journey to work. Better to use the roomy Tupperware that you used to measure your pastry size and line it with enough parchment paper that you can fold it over the top of the tart once it is placed inside. Structure is good for your tart.
Feta and red onion variation
A delicious variation on the above: Prepare the pastry and onions—minus the thyme—as directed above. At the end, omit the olives and anchovies and instead crumble over some feta and then sprinkle over the thyme. Cook for the same amount of time.