CARAMELISED ONION AND BLUE CHEESE TART
Serves 12 as a starter or 6 as a main course
Ingredients
100g/4oz shortcut pastry
2 large red onion, sliced very thinly
1 tbsp thyme leaves
20g/1oz brown sugar
50ml olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
100g/4oz blue cheese (preferably Cashel Blue)
500ml cream
6 egg yolks
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
Method
Roll pastry very thinly. Line one 30mm tart tin and place pastry into it, pushing into the corners, flattening on the bottom and ensuring there are no air bubbles. Pierce pastry with a fork and blind bake weighed down with baking beans for 20 mins at 160C/145C fan-oven/Gas mark 3
Remove baking beans and brush with egg yolk mixed with a little excess uncooked pastry to seal any holes or cracks. Bake for a further 5 mins.
Add olive oil to a hot saucepan, followed by onions and thyme leaves. Cook until soft. Add sugar and cook for a further five minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, stir and remove from the heat. When cool, strain excess liquid, and add onion evenly to base of tart. Break the cheese into pieces and spread over the onions.
Combine cream, egg yolks, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste, whisk together until cream and egg yolk are well integrated, then pour over onion and blue cheese until it reaches the lip of the pastry. Place back in the oven and bake for 35 – 40 mins at 150C/135C fan-oven/Gas mark 2. When cooked through, an inserted skewer or knife should come out of the tart clean.
