Caramelized Onion (or Leek) and Potato Tart with Goat Cheese

This is one of my favorite things ever. I made the Leek and Potato version for my brother and his girlfriend last weekend. It's comfort food, only fancier. This version of the recipe feeds 4, but you can easily add an extra onion and an extra potato or more to make a larger version.

What you need:

• 2-3 onions* (slightly sweet varieties work best)
• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 puff pastry
• 1 package goat cheese
• milk or soy milk
• butter
• sugar
• salt

What you do:

Cut onions in half lengthwise, then slice finely. Add a few tablespoons of butter to a pan and melt. Then add onions. Sprinkle with sugar and salt, then stir to coat. Cook the onions on low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned. This can take awhile, so as you take a break from stirring, start on the potatoes.

Peel (optional) and dice potatoes. Add to boiling water and boil until soft. Drain. Return potatoes to pot and turn heat on low. Stir potatoes until they begin to stick on the bottom. Mix in a few tablespoons of butter and mash with a potato masher. Add in milk about a tablespoon at a time until the potatoes reach a consistency that makes you happy and salt to taste.**

Grease and flour a small baking dish, like say one of those 8x8 ones. Roll out puff pastry and place in bottom of dish. You can have the pastry come up the sides a bit if you like, but you don't have to. Spread mashed potatoes on top of pastry. Spread onions on top of mashed potatoes. Crumble goat cheese on top.

Bake at 375 until the pastry is lightly browned at the edges, about 45 minutes.

*You can make the same tart with leeks. It takes about 1 large or 2 small leeks. Only with leeks you don't caramelize them. Just cook them until slightly tender. The leek version is faster, but the caramelized onion version is my favorite.

**In case you didn't get that, you're making mashed potatoes here. So really you can just do it however you like.