Caramelised Balsamic And Red Onion Tarts With Goats' Cheese

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 75 g butter, at room temp
• 175 g plain flour
• 50 g aged cheddar cheese, fine grated
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 900 g red onions, finely sliced
• 110 g goat cheese, log in 4 rounds
• 25 g butter
• 1 teaspoon dried sage, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Recipe

• 1 pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°f (180°c).
• 2 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.
• 3 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.
• 4 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.
• 5 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.