Recipe: Quiche aux Oignons d'Or et aux Tomates Rôties (Golden Onion and Roasted Tomato Quiche)

Makes 1 quiche (6 to 8 slices)

Roasted Tomato Petals:

Parchment paper

6 to 8 roma tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon coarse salt

Caramelized Onions:

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 large onions (about 2 pounds), sliced

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon flour

Salt

Prepared pie dough or pâte brisée (recipe this page)

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

3 large eggs

¾ cup heavy cream

3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

Coarse salt, ground pepper

½ teaspoon thyme

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice an "x" on the bottom of each tomato. Drop into boiling water for a few seconds, then plunge into a bowl of ice water. Tear the flaps on the "x" to remove the skin. Cut out the core and then quarter each tomato and remove the seeds; spread out on baking sheet. Drizzle on the oil and add garlic, thyme and salt. Gently bake 1 ½ hours, or until slivers are tender. Remove from the baking sheet and let cool.

2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan melt the butter with the olive oil. Add onions and bay leaf. Cook and stir patiently over medium-low heat until onions are brown and soft, about a half hour. Once browned, sprinkle with flour and a dash of salt and cook another two minutes. Set aside and let cool until completely cold.

3. Increase oven heat to 425 degrees. Roll out dough and press into a 10-inch metal quiche or pie pan. Pierce the bottom with a fork. Set parchment or aluminum foil over the dough and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake 5 minutes. Remove weights and liner, brush pastry with beaten egg, and return to oven for 7 minutes. Cool slightly.

4. Whisk eggs and cream in a bowl. Stir in about a third of the cheese; add salt, pepper and thyme. Stir in cooled onions and pour into pastry shell. Arrange tomatoes in a decorative pattern on top. Sprinkle on remaining Gruyère. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 400 degrees and cook another 15 to 20 minutes until firm, browned and a bit puffy.

From "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry: Love, Laughter and Tears

at the World's Most Famous Cooking School" by Kathleen Flinn