Tartlets with caramelized onions and stracciatella

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PRESENTATION

Tartellette con cipolle caramellate e stracciatella are really something special for your table. These little tartlets—so tasty—have a French-style pasta brisée crust, but with a twist. Tomato concentrate adds this vibrant color and flavor burst that’s, honestly, amazing. The shell? It’s got this golden crunch that makes a perfect base for the filling.

From the Tropea region, you know, those famous red onions are cooked up in butter and brown sugar until they're sweet and jammy—so, so good. This layer is rich and topped with creamy stracciatella cheese from Puglia. The cheese—oh man, it's moist and rich. This combo of tender onions and fresh cheese is just unbeatable. And the salty pop of anchovies? Plus, the burst from caper buds makes these antipasto cipolle caramellate stracciatella tartlets an explosion of flavors.

Southern Italy really nails balancing sweet and salty. This dish totally shows off that skill. Unlike regular tartellette salate, these have a fun twist with tomato dough and a mix of regional goodies. It's no wonder this tartellette con cipolle caramellate e stracciatella recipe is becoming a favorite for antipasti lovers. Honestly, it's finger food italiano at its best.

Perfect for gatherings, these tartlets give everyone their own little piece of Italy. And listen, with those crispy, tender layers featuring the best from Puglia and Tropea, watch them disappear—fast. Serve them warm, and the stracciatella stays moist and kinda runny, mingling with the onion’s flavor. It's a bite of true Italian cuisine—regional, colorful, and really really tasty. So next time you’re hosting, go for these tartlets. It’s an Italian experience that's both modern and rooted in tradition—seriously good.

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INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry (for 6 tartlets)
Butter 3.5 oz (100 g)
Type 00 flour 1.67 cups (200 g)
Water 4 ¾ tbsp (70 ml) - chilled
Tomato paste 3 tbsp (50 g)
Fine salt to taste
for the filling
Stracciatella cheese 2 cups (250 g)
Red Tropea onions 2
Anchovies in oil 6
Caper berries 6
Butter 3 tbsp (40 g)
Brown sugar 2 spoonfuls
Fine salt to taste
Preparation

How to prepare Tartlets with caramelized onions and stracciatella

To make the tartlets with caramelized onions and stracciatella, start by preparing the base dough following our recipe for tomato shortcrust pastry. To prepare the tomato shortcrust pastry, start by mixing the tomato paste in the ice-cold water (1-2). Proceed with the sandblasting technique: place the sifted flour, cold butter pieces from the fridge 3, a pinch of salt in a mixer, and blend everything until you get a sandy-looking mixture.

Place the obtained mixture on a floured surface in the classic fountain shape and add the tomato paste diluted in water to the center 4, knead everything quickly 5 until you get a compact, firm, and fairly elastic dough. Once ready, wrap your shortcrust pastry in a sheet of kitchen film 6 and let it rest in the fridge for at least 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, the shortcrust pastry will be ready to use. Place the shortcrust pastry dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin 7 to a very thin thickness, about 1/8 inch, butter 8 and flour the chosen tart molds for baking and lay the pastry over the mold 9,

make it adhere well and prick the bottom of the pastry with the tines of a fork 10. Now proceed with blind baking following our guide How to do blind baking. Place dried legumes or suitable weights like ceramic balls inside the mold 11. Bake the pastry for about 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350°F. Once baked, remove it from the oven, eliminate the weights, and let it cool 12.

Prepare the filling: slice the onions 13 and put them in a pan where you have melted the butter, let them soften slightly, then add the brown sugar 14 and cook gently until they are caramelized 15.

Proceed with the filling: place a layer of caramelized onions 16. Take the burrata and extract the stracciatella, drain it so it is as dry as possible, then shred it and place it on the tartlets 17, add a rolled anchovy in the center, and finally a caper flower 18. Your tartlets with caramelized onions and stracciatella are ready to be enjoyed.

Storage

Store the tartlets in the refrigerator for no more than one day. It is recommended to freeze only the shortcrust pastry dough and not the finished preparation.

Advice

You can color the shortcrust pastry differently by using beetroot to obtain a purple color, spinach for green, and saffron if you want a golden yellow. You can vary the filling according to your taste and fill the tartlets with other delicious ingredients such as olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.