Spring onions & bacon. Need we say more?

Spring onions, bacon and nutty cheese create a savory celebration

Some of the recipes I make require a bit of a hard sell, some razzledazzle. I might have to convince readers to add the anchovies (“It won’t taste fishy, I promise!”) or sweet talk my children into sampling a new pasta preparation (“It has Parmesan! You love Parmesan!”). This savory tart recipe, on the other hand, requires none of that. All you need to know is that there’s crispy, flaky puff pastry, baked until GBD (golden, brown, delicious), fat lardons of bacon, and nutty cheese. And if you need yet more convincing, the tart has a foundation of creme fraiche, and a tangle of spring onions.

You’re probably already preheating the oven.

You can make puff pastry, or a shortcut version known as rough puff pastry, at home, but you can also make it. Storebought puff pastry is a hack for the ages, and if you keep a box in the freezer, this tart — or some variation on it, of which there are many — is never far from reach. Just be sure to buy an allbutter puff pastry, as the commercial varieties made with oil aren’t especially tasty.

The tart looks special, but you can throw it together in 20 minutes without breaking a sweat. I’ve whipped one of these up when lastminute guests were headed over for a quick drink, and let me tell you what kind of hero you’ll be when you trot this wonder out in lieu of olives and peanuts. It’s also ideal for a nofrills supper or lunch.

Because they are abundant this time of year, and because I adore their subtle allium flavor and gentle sweetness, I seek out spring onions, but when I can’t get them I’ve used scallions or even regular white onions. For the bacon, I look for a thickcut, meaty variety that won’t wither away to nothing in the pan. If you can find an unsliced slab of bacon and do the cutting yourself, so much the better. If you can’t get creme fraiche, you can use ricotta. And for the cheese, use Gruyère, Comté or any other nutty, Alpinestyle cheese.

I trust you need no more convincing, so just one more piece of advice: You might want to double the recipe and make two tarts, because it goes fast.

Jessica Battilana / Special to The Chronicle If you use storebought puff pastry, you can throw together this flavorful tart in a very short time.