This is a recipe tinged with sadness. Last week’s dreadful, unforgivable events in Paris served only to strengthen my love for France and the French.

Ever since I was intrigued by hearing my first word as a little boy on holiday, I’ve been obsessed with the place. I love the countryside, from the rugged coasts of the North to the iridescent coves of the Cote d’Azur, and from the vineyards of Bordeaux to the glistening Alpine peaks. I love the people – if you make the effort, they will turn out to be some of the friendliest, most hospitable people on Earth, funny, charming and helpful.

And perhaps more than anything, I love France for its love of food. It is the birthplace of haute cuisine, now ingrained so deep in the cooking of most European countries, and several much further afield.

Perhaps the best thing about the French and their adoration of good food is their terrific pride in local ingredients. Long before the EU started their laudable IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) system, which offers protection to geographically specific quality products such as Stilton cheese, Iberico ham and Tuscan olive oil, France was doing much the same thing by itself.

To this day, there are still dozens of towns that are best known for making a unique product which is famous nationally.

A lot of it is, as you’d expect, cheese-based; the country has more cheeses than days of the year, after all. But there’s so much more; Aix-En-Provence has its calisson biscuits, Montélimar its nougat. Espelette, near Biarritz, is famous for its fiery dried peppers. An hour’s drive east gets you to Agen, home of the world’s finest prune.

You can stick a pin in the map and you’ll be within a stone’s throw of some wonderful local speciality, whether it’s the mustards of Dijon or the rillettes of Le Mans. Recently, we were on holiday near Béziers in the Languedoc, a favourite part of the world of mine.

Since selling our house in the Aveyron, we’ve been missing having a French bolt-hole, so this trip was to get a feel of the area in case we get the urge again.

Canal du Midi, Béziers

The Languedoc itself has many local specialities, excluding the many wonderful wines; there’s the famous Tielles de Sète (wonderful pies made with tomato sauce and slow-braised octopus chunks), the delicious aperitif Noilly Prat and the famous sea salt, Fleur De Sel, from the coastal lagoons of Aigues-Mortes. One speciality that’s a little less known is the Cèbe.

Grown around a little village mid-way between Béziers and Pézenas, the Cèbe de Lézignan is a beautifully sweet little round onion. In fact, such is the pride in their magical onions, the village has been known as Lézignan-La-Cèbe since the 17th Century.

Every year there is a festival in tribute to these humble little alliums, with dancing, toasts anddedications. Something about the soil and the climate combines to make these onions, in the words of the villagers, “as sweet as bread.”

They certainly are good, and much prized by local chefs – they don’t get much further than regional restaurants and shops.

And this, in a nutshell, is why I love France so much; they name a village after an onion, and dance in its honour. Who couldn’t fall in love with a country that goes to such extremes? I brought a bag home and decided to make this simple tart to show off the flavour in as reverential way as possible.

A crisp, dressed salad is all you need to accompany this marvellous supper dish. Of course, you’ll have to find your own small, sweet onions on this occasion.

The Cèbe is a rare jewel indeed!

FOR THE PASTRY:

175g plain flour

75g chilled butter, diced

Chilled water

A pinch of Maldon salt

FOR THE TART:

700g Cèbe de Lezignan onions (or any small, sweet variety)

100ml olive oil

Splash of lemon juice

A pinch of caster sugar

Maldon salt

2 free-range eggs

1 free-range egg yolk

225ml double cream

225ml full milk

100g finely grated Gruyère cheese

Gruyère cheese

FOR THE SALAD:

1 large Romaine lettuce

A little Dijon mustard

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp White wine vinegar

4 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsps natural yoghurt

A few chopped chives

A little chopped parsley

S&P

EXTRAS:

1x 26cm loose-based tart tin

Baking parchment

Baking beans

METHOD:

First, make the pastry. In a processor, whizz the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then, with the motor still running, add the water drop by drop until the dough just starts to come together.

Remove from the bowl and knead quickly into a smooth ball of dough.Wrap and chill for about 30 minutes. Then, On a wide, well-floured work surface, roll out the pastry in a rough circle, about 36cm in diameter, and to about the thickness of a pound coin. Gently ease the pastry into the tart tin. Trim any large pieces of excess pastry, but leave plenty of overhang in case of oven-shrink.

Cut out a 30cm disc of baking parchment, screw it into a tight ball, then carefully unfold it and push it gently into the pastry case, making sure it gets to every corner.

Fill the tart with baking beans or dry rice and chill for another hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C / Gas 4. Bake the pastry for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and carefully lift out the parchment and beans.

Pop the tart case back into the oven for a few more minutes to colour and set.

Allow to cool on a wire rack. If any cracks appear, brush them with egg yolk to seal the holes.

Peel the onions, leaving the root ends intact. Cut in half, then cut each half into thirds lengthways and place in a single layer on a baking tray.

Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with the sugar, and a pinch of salt.

Roast for 35 minutes, turning occasionally, or until the onion wedges are deep golden and softened.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and yolk in a bowl. Whisk in the cream and milk. Season with a little salt and a grind of black pepper. Place the tart tin on a flat baking sheet. Arrange the onions across the bottom of the pastry case, then carefully pour the egg and cream mixture over the onions.

I find it easier to do this with the tart case already in the oven, in order to avoid spillages when carrying across the kitchen. Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is just starting to become wobbly.

Sprinkle with the Gruyere cheese and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Prepare the salad. Hand-tear the lettuce into chunks, wash and rain. Whisk the remaining ingredients together to make a smooth creamy dressing. Dress the salad at the last minute.

Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with the dressed salad.