This onion cottage cheese tart is a vegetarian savoury pie made with cottage cheese and pearl onions. The combination of thinly sliced mild onions with the delicate cheese filling makes this vegetarian cottage cheese tart a great appetizer or light lunch option.
Savoury pies are awesome. They are easy to make and you can basically throw in any kind of ingredients you like. Prep time can be very short and they just do their own thing in the oven while you get comfy and lay the table. I really like to make savoury pies for dinner and take leftovers to work the following day. Or even better, make a double batch in one go, so I also have dinner for the following night!
While I am not a vegetarian, my savoury pies almost always do not feature any meat. I just think that you can do so much once you start playing with various veggie and cheese combinations that you don’t really need to also have meat in them. This time, for example, we are making a shortcrust tart with a cottage cheese filling topped with pearl onion slices.
Onion cottage cheese tart ingredients
- 1 pie crust
- 250 g cottage cheese
- 50 g parmigiano
- 1 egg
- 3-4 pearl onions (don’t have those? Sub with shallots!)
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- black pepper
If you have a food processor at hand and you’d rather make everything from scratch, a homemade shortcrust would be fantastic. It only takes 10 minutes and 3 ingredients. One of which could be white wine, if you were already planning on opening a bottle to enjoy with this later. Yes, white wine shortcrust!
How to make it
- Press a pie crust into a tart pan.
- Prick the bottom and sides of the shortcrust pastry with a fork and bake in the pre-heated oven at 200°C (390°F) for 10 minutes.
- As the tart base bakes, crack an egg into a mixing bowl and lightly whisk it with a fork. Add the cottage cheese, grated parmigiano and salt and mix to combine.
- Peel and thinly slice the pearl onions lengthways. Lightly brush the top side with olive oil.
- When the crust has pre-baked for 10 minutes, take it out of the oven and add the cheese and egg mixture, spreading it evenly all over the base.
- Place the thinly sliced onions over the cottage cheese filling, oiled side facing up.
- Crack some black pepper all over the tart and return to the oven.
- Bake another 30-35 more minutes always at 200°C (390°F).
Serving and storage tips
Like most savoury pies, this onion cottage cheese tart tastes best freshly baked, but can be made ahead and consumed later. The main reason you would want to be eating this fresh is to enjoy the fragrance and crispiness of the shortcrust. While the overall flavour of this dish will remain good even the following day, the shortcrust may get soft and lose the crunch factor.
If not consuming right away, store airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days. This vegetable pie microwaves well, but reheating in the microwave will result in a soft crust. To get some crisp back, it’s best to reheat this pie in the oven (120°C for 15 minutes). Heating is not mandatory. This pie tastes lovely even served cold.
This onion cottage cheese tart is a delicious lunch option. Serve it together with a small bowl of mixed greens, a grain and pulse salad or a spicy coleslaw.
You can also serve it as an appetizer. Slice it into 12 pieces and place them on a tray for your guests to pick. No need to re-heat it, this way it will be easy to enjoy as finger food along with a glass of semi-dry white wine.
In fact, I don’t see why this onion shortcrust tart should not work as side dish, too. Serve it instead of bread and butter on the side of a warm cup of soup, like this lovely vegan autumn soup.
Do you have any other food pairings that could go well with this savoury pie? Let me know in the comments!
Onion cottage cheese tart
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Tart pan
- Fork
- Cutting board and knife (or mandoline)
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust
- 250 g cottage cheese
- 50 g parmigiano grated
- 1 egg
- 40 g pearl onions 3-4 onions
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- black pepper
Instructions
- Press a pie crust into a tart pan. You can either use store-bought or make it yourself.
- Prick the bottom and sides of the shortcrust pastry with a fork and bake in the pre-heated oven at 200°C (390°F) for 10 minutes.
- Crack an egg into a mixing bowl and lightly whisk it with a fork. Add the cottage cheese, grated parmigiano and salt and mix to combine.
- Peel and thinly slice the pearl onions lengthways. Lightly brush the top side with olive oil.
- After 10 minutes, take the shortcrust out of the oven and add the cheese and egg mixture, spreading it evenly all over the base.
- Place the thinly sliced onions over the cottage cheese filling, oiled side facing up. Add a dusting of freshly cracked black pepper.
- Return the tart to the oven and bake another 30-35 more minutes always at 200°C (390°F).
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!