Carmelized Onion Tart with Goat Cheese, Pancetta & Pine Nuts

Flaky crust, savory onions, creamy goat cheese, salty pancetta and crunchy pine nuts.....  What's not to love? This sounds complicated, but it could not be easier or tastier.  It's a twist on pizza that you will love and your family will beg you to make again and again.  Feel free to make your own puff-pastry, but if you've been keeping up with this blog, you'll know that I am not a baker AND, though I love to cook, I subscribe to the tasty but easy philosophy. And there "ain't" nothin wrong with a store bought puff-pastry! ;)

You could put anything you want on this tart, but I do like the base of the caramelized onions.  You could skip the pancetta, add bacon instead, turkey bacon, even prosciutto..... or just bag it all together!  It would make a great vegetarian meal for sure.  This doesn't even have to be a meal, though my hubby and I had it the other night for dinner and served it with a green salad with citrus vinaigrette and it was the perfect week-night meal. However, I was inspired by an appetizer tart recipe, so you could easily cut this into bite size squares and serve it to guests at your next party.

Either way, you're going to love it!

Housepitalities Onion Tart with Goat Cheese, Pancetta & Pine Nuts
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
-1 Sheet Puff Pastry (frozen food aisle)
-1 Large Red Onion
-1 Egg
-1/4 cup Goat Cheese (or a small log/roll)
-1/4 cup Pancetta
-3 tablespoons Pine Nuts
-2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
-Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw for about 20 minutes or so.  It will still be stiff to work with, but carefully unfold and lay on greased baking sheet. Take a fork and poke holes along the border of the puff pastry (about 1/4 inch) from the edge.  This will help it to not puff up too much and be a better vehicle for your ingredients.  Beat the egg and brush over the entire sheet of puff pastry.

Brown the pancetta in a frying pan for about 5 minutes or until crispy and brown, but not overdone. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain.

Thinly slice the onion and saute' on medium-low heat (be sure to salt and pepper the onions) in the same pan as the pancetta for about 20 minutes until browned and caramelized. If you skip the pancetta step, be sure to add a tablespoon of olive oil before adding the onions.  Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar at the very end, turn heat to high and stir often for about a minute or so.  The vinegar should burn off a bit and absorb into the onions.  Remove from heat.

Lay the onions down on the  puff pastry, spread evenly.  Sprinkle the pancetta over the onions.  Bake for 15 minutes, then crumble the goat cheese and sprinkle the pine nuts over the onions and pancetta.  Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes.  The puff pastry should be golden around the edges and crispy brown on the bottom.  If it's not, give it more time.  Some ovens my take up to a half an hour to reach desired crispy-ness.

This is an incredible and easy recipe.  A MUST try :)