2 pounds white onions

1/4 pound butter

3 eggs

beaten

bacon

1 cup sour cream

Recipe Notes (by Alexia Moyer):

I chose this recipe because I can’t resist an onion tart. This one – should you feel inclined to try it – has the look and taste of a quiche. A salad with vinaigrette cuts, and therefore justly accompanies, this tart’s richness. I used lardons, faute de mieux. There were no leftovers.

Submitted by P.K. Page to Apples Under the Bed: Recollections and Recipes from B.C. Writers and Artists, this recipe accompanies a short essay by Page called “As Canadian as Possible in the Circumstances.” Page recalls her husband’s transfer to Australia as Canadian High Commissioner and of the inevitable hosting duties that accompanied this move. Her repertoire of casseroles and pasta would not do for Prime Ministers and diplomats. “The fact that Canada lacks a Canadian cuisine was a disadvantage,” she writes. Nonetheless, Page set out to “create a sense of Canada” with food.

This onion tart is therefore both delicious and it demonstrates the making of a national cuisine – in kitchens at home and abroad and through the publication of anthologies such as these.

Onion Tart

One deep 9-inch pie plate or two shallow ones

Matches to burn and then hold between your teeth as you slice very thinly

2 pounds white onions

Simmer until soft in

¼ pound butter

Cool and combine with

1 cup sour cream mixed with

3 beaten eggs

Salt, pepper and a dash of sherry

Fill baked shell, or shells, criss-cross with bacon.

Bake at 450 F for 10 minutes, then 300 F

until golden