Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion & Grape Tartlets

Pungent blue cheese is perfectly balanced with the addition of sweet red grapes & balsamic caramelized onions to make this the most delicious hors d'oeuvre for your next soiree!

It took me a long time to warm up to blue cheese. It wasn't until I learned to pair it with something sweet that I began to embrace it!

All too often I see people making "caramelized onions" and they aren't caramelized at all. They are still pale in colour in are basically sticky onions. Please don't do this. Take the time to properly caramelize the onions when the recipe says so. The flavour will be much sweeter & you will thank me later.

"Caramelized' means caramel coloured, not just softened, not burnt, THE COLOUR OF CARAMEL"

Using store-bought pre-rolled puff pastry makes this recipe come together super easily. If all you can't find pre-rolled you can easily roll out the puff pastry yourself on a lightly floured work surface. You want the pastry to be approx. 1/4 inch thick in a 8x8 square. Don't fuss to much on getting the measurements perfect, these are suppose to look a bit rustic!

Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion & Grape Tartlets

Makes 12

What you'll need:

4 medium onions, thinly sliced

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 sheet store-bought pre-rolled puff pastry

Blue cheese, crumbled

Seedless red grapes

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 375F

Add 3 tbsp butter & 1 tbsp oil over to a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted all the onions & stir to coat. Cook the onions stirring every 8 minutes until caramelized ('Caramelized' means caramel coloured, not just softened, not burnt, THE COLOUR OF CARAMEL). This could take upward to 30-40 minutes. If you stir too often the onions won't have a chance to brown so take my advice and stir only every 8 minutes. If you find they are getting too dark in spots reduce the heat. If they are looking dry, add more oil to the pan. Once caramelized add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to the pan & stir to coat the onions cook for 1 more minute. Transfer the onions to a large plate and spread them out to cool down a bit.

Cut the puff pastry into 12 equal-ish squares (they don't have to be perfect!). Grease a 12 tin muffin pan. Transfer each square into the prepared muffin pan. Divide the caramelized onions among easy puff pastry. Top with crumbled blue cheese and finally the red grapes.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove pan from the oven and allow the tarts to cool in the pan for 5-8 minutes before removing from the pan & serving!

Happy apping!