Onion Pie

by Tom Landshof

We got the basic recipe for this from an article in The New York Times a few years ago and just got around to making it. Boy, was it good! Our son, Tim was here for dinner, and though not a big onion fan, liked it so much he took some of the leftovers home. It reheats well. We served it as a side dish to a porterhouse steak. You could also use it as a luncheon dish with a salad. We purposely stayed away from sweet onions so it would be more on the savory side. A very easy and unusual recipe that is very good.

Adapted by Tom and Suzanne Landshof from a recipe by Cheryl Rogowski (The New York Times, Oct. 24, 2007).

Ingredients: (serves 6 to 8)

12 Tbs. unsalted butter

4 oz. crackers (about 36, see note)
1½ lbs. yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 4 1/2 C)
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
3 large eggs
¾ Cup heavy cream
4 oz. grated -sharp cheddar cheese (about 1 cup).
4 slices chopped, cooked bacon (optional)

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375°F (360°F convection bake). Melt butter in a large skillet or sauté pan over low heat; set aside. In a food processor, pulse crackers to coarse crumbs and transfer to a medium bowl. Pour 4 Tbs. melted butter over crumbs and toss with fingertips or a rubber spatula until evenly coated. Press mixture firmly into a deep-dish 9" pie pan, using a second pie pan, if possible, to compact them evenly against bottom and sides of pan. While onions are cooking, bake pie crust about 4 minutes.

Reheat remaining melted butter in skillet over medium-high heat until frothy. Add onions and ¼ tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are evenly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer onions to pie pan, patting them down in an even layer on crust.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with a whisk and add heavy cream and remaining ¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper, whisking gently. Pour mixture slowly, in a thin stream, into center of onions in pie pan. Spread optional chopped bacon over top. Sprinkle grated cheese over top and place in oven. Bake until puffy and slightly browned on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife into wedges and serve.

Notes:
We use Nabisco’s Ritz Social Savory crackers. Saltines were called for in the original recipe. I would not use regular Ritz crackers.

The bacon is optional but adds a nice flavor contrast.

As a side dish this will serve at least 8.