Love Locks & A Tart

Paris is well known for being the city of romance.  I would like to share a story with you that has a bit of history with a modern twist!

There is a pedestrian bridge called the Pont des Arts, or Passerelle des Arts, which crosses the River Seine.

It is said that in 1802 Napoleon had a nine-arch metallic bridge constructed for pedestrians. It is believed to be the first metal bridge in Paris. The engineers were Louis-Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Dillon.

On 17th March 1975, the French Ministry of Culture listed the bridge as a national historic monument.

In 1976, the Inspector of  Bridges and Causeways reported several deficiencies on the bridge. He noted damage caused by two aerial bombardments sustained in World War 1 and World War 2, as well as multiple boat collisions over the years. He closed the bridge in 1977 and in 1979, a barge rammed into it causing a 60 meter collapse. 

The present bridge was completed in 1984 and was meant to be identical of Louis Arretche. The only difference was they reduced the number of arches from nine to seven.This would allow the look of the old bridge to be preserved while realigning the new structure with the Pont Neuf. On the 27th June 1984, the newly constructed bridge was inaugurated by Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris.

The modern twist is something for the romantics. Since 2008 it is believed the romance between not only the people of Paris but the world and this bridge took a different turn.

It started when a tourist with a padlock wrote the initials, or name, of their loved one on the lock and then placed it on the the side of the bridge, locked it and tossed the key into the Seine. It is meant to represent their love for each other.

Over the years people came from every part of the world to pledge a love lock. Unfortunately the locks grew and grew until the bridge could not stand the weight. Part of the grate came away with all the locks. On the 1st June 2015 the locks had to be removed as they thought it would be a danger. They say over a million locks were  removed weighing 45 tons!  

Caramelized Onion and Bacon Tart

Ingredients

Pastry 
One and a third cups of plain flour
125grams of cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of iced water
pinch of salt    

Filling
4 slices of bacon cut into half inch pieces
4 small onions peeled and thickly sliced
One teaspoon of dried thyme 
Salt & Pepper
1 cup of ricotta 
1 egg yolk
Half a cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano





Method

Pastry
Put the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk egg and water in a bowl until combined. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour in the food processor until the mixture forms a ball.

Turn pastry out on to a work surface and gently knead it. Form a disc shape for a round tart or log shape for a rectangular tart. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for two hours.

After two hours take pastry out of fridge and roll out. Make sure your tart tin is greased and lightly floured.

Place the rolled pastry into the tin and gently press into shape, with a fork prick the pastry on the base. Place baking paper over the pastry and then top with dry beans. This stops the pastry from rising too high.

Place in a moderate oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Take out of oven and remove paper and beans. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes until lightly golden.

Take out of oven and put to one side to cool while you make filling.

Filling

Cook the bacon in a fry pan on a medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp around the edges. Don't over cook the bacon as it will need further cooking later. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Place the onions to the pan and cook over medium heat until they start to golden brown, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat to low, add half the thyme and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are meltingly soft and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes.

In a bowl combine ricotta and egg yolk, a quarter of a teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste, the remaining thyme and a quarter of a cup of the Parmigiano. Make sure it is stirred well. Spread the ricotta mixture over the pastry evenly, then arrange the onion mixture over the top of that. Sprinkle the remaining quarter of cup of Parmigiano and the bacon over the top.

Place back in the oven and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and the ricotta filling is puffed and set.

Serve at room temperature with a fresh garden salad on the side

Enjoy!