Red Onion And Goats Cheese Tart Recipes

RED ONION, GOAT CHEESE AND BASIL TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil heavy large baking sheet. Toss onion wedges with oil in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange onions in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until bottoms of onions are golden and onions are very tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer sheet to rack; cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead . Cover and let stand at room temperature.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 14x11-inch rectangle. Trim edges to even. Cut 1/2-inch strip from each side of pastry, forming 13x10-inch rectangle; reserve strips. Transfer pastry rectangle to another heavy large baking sheet. Brush edges with some of beaten egg; reserve remaining egg. Place strips on edges of tart, creating border. Trim strips; press gently to adhere. Pierce bottom of pastry several times with fork. Bake until edges puff and pastry is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack. Using metal spatula, loosen pastry from baking sheet. Cool completely on sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Stir cheese, pesto, cream and 2 tablespoons basil in medium bowl until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in remaining beaten egg. Spread cheese mixture evenly over bottom of crust. Remove peel and stem end from roasted onions. Fan wedges, golden brown side up, over cheese mixture.
• Bake tart until crust is brown and cheese appears set, about 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack and cool tart to room temperature.
• Sprinkle tart with remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Cut into squares.

CARAMELISED BALSAMIC AND RED ONION TARTS WITH GOATS' CHEESE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).
• You will also need eight 3½ inch (9 cm) diameter x 1 inch (2.5 cm) high mini flan tins, greased, and a 5 inch (13 cm) pastry cutter or plate to cut around.
• First make up the pastry by rubbing the butter lightly on to the flour, then adding the cheese, mustard and cayenne plus just enough cold water to make a smooth dough. Then place the dough in a polythene bag to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. After that, roll it out as thinly as possible and use a 5 inch (13 cm) cutter, or a saucer or something similar, to stamp out 8 rounds. Line the greased tins with them, then bake in the oven, centre shelf, for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through but not coloured. Then cool the pastry cases on a wire rack and store them in an airtight tin until they are needed.
• To make the filling, melt the butter in a heavy-based, medium-sized saucepan, stir in the onions, balsamic vinegar and chopped sage, season and let everything cook very gently without a lid, stirring often, for about 30 minutes until they have reduced down and taken on a lovely glazed appearance and all the excess liquid has evaporated away. Then let the mixture cool until you are ready to make the tarts.
• To bake them, brush a little beaten egg on to each pastry case, pop them back into the oven, same temperature as above, for 5 minutes - this helps to provide a seal for the pastry and helps it from becoming soggy. Now spoon the onion mixture into the cases. Top each one with a slice of goats' cheese and a sage leaf that has first been dipped into olive oil. Finally sprinkle with a little cayenne and bake for 20 minutes.