Caramalised Balsamic and Red Onion Tart with Goats' Cheese

Caramalised Balsamic and Red Onion Tart with Goats' Cheese

It's a bit of a cliché to serve red onion and goats' cheese tart as a vegetarian option, but done right and there's nothing better – well, so says my missus who hasn't seen a piece of meat pass her lips (leave it right there) in 20-odd years. Stick a dollop of buttery, creamy mash on one side, and spinach wilted in butter, lemon and grated nutmeg on the other, and I'm going to be closing The Albion Tavern early tonight, thank you very much. Time gentlemen, please. This recipe has been shamelessly nicked from that temptress of tarts, Delia Smith, from her ironically meaty tome, Delia's Vegetarian Collection. She makes eight individual tarts, but, using the same ingredients, I made one big one. Of course, once the above picture was taken I stuck another slice of tart on the plate for the wife. And another dollop of mash. Reckon I'll be opening up late in the morning as well. Serves 8.

Ingredients:
For the filling: 6 tbsp balsamic vinegar 900g red onions, very finely sliced 2 x 100g goats' cheese 25g butter 1 1/2 tbsp fresh sage, choppedcayenne peppersalt and pepper For the cheese pastry:75g butter 175g plain flour50g strong Cheddar cheese1/2 tsp mustard powderpinch cayenne 1 egg, beaten  Method: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Make 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. 2. After that, roll it out as thinly as possible to a round larger than your lightly greased tart tin. Carefully line the tin, then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through, but not coloured. Allow to cool until needed. 3. 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 tart. 4. Brush a little beaten egg on to the pastry case, pop 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 case. Top with slices of goats' cheese, sprinkle with a little cayenne and bake for 20 minutes.