This Caramelized Onion, Pear, and Blue Cheese Galette is an elegant and easy to prepare side dish with bold flavors. The combination of caramelized onion and blue cheese is one of my favorite all time ingredient pairings, and this savory galette balances sweet caramelized onions, rich blue cheese, and delicate pears in a flaky crust.
While this recipe is easy to prepare, it is time consuming. Getting onions perfectly golden brown and caramelized takes about 45-60 minutes. You need to be patient. You can start the onions at medium heat until they become translucent and soft. Then turn the heat down to low.
The secret to caramelizing onions is to add water as necessary to prevent the onions from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. I like to caramelize onions when I am working on a few other recipes in the kitchen. I turn the heat as low as it can go, so that the onions won't burn. The more patient you are, and the longer you sauté your onions, the better the results will be. You can prepare the caramelized onions a day or two in advance.
I was feeling ambitious, so I made a crust from scratch using this recipe. I honestly don't think it was worth the time and effort. It's pretty gutsy for Delish to call the recipe their "Perfect Pie Crust". It isn't perfect and it doesn't brown very well. Use a store bought pie crust instead. It will save you time, and you won't need to make a big mess preparing a from-scratch crust.
I know that not everyone loves blue cheese. It can be a love it or hate it ingredient, and you could replace the blue cheese with goat cheese.
There are a couple easy twists that you could give this recipe. You could add walnuts for a bit of crunch, or to give the tart even more richness, add a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar.
Ingredients
- 2 White Onions
- about ¼ cup of Olive Oil
- 4 Pears
- 1 Pie Crust or Puff Pastry
- ¼ cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
- 1 tablespoon Melted Butter
Instructions
- Slice the onions in to long thin half circles. You want to slice the onions as evenly as possible, this way the onions will cook evenly as they caramelize. Place the olive oil and onions in a pot over medium heat. Stir to evenly coat the onions in olive oil, and so that they cook evenly.
- Once the onions are soft and translucent, turn the heat down to low. Continue to stir frequently as the onions slowly caramelize. You want them to be golden brown.
- When the onions are ready, heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Thinly slice the pears, being careful to remove the core and any seeds.
- Roll out the pie crust (it doesn't need to be square - it can be round). Place it on a piece of parchment.
- Arrange the caramelized onions on the pie crust, leaving the 2 inches at the edge bare. Then arrange the pears on top of the onions. Sprinkle the blue cheese over the top. Carefully fold the edges of the pie crust up. Brush the edges of the pie crust with butter.
- Bake the galette for 35-40 minutes. You may need to turn the broiler on for a couple of minutes for the crust to brown (adding more butter doesn't hurt either).
