Thick Onion Tart
– How to Cheat

This week’s hero ingredient is, I feel, going to provide us with masses of lovely, yummy cheat recipes. Ready-rolled pastry was an enormous breakthrough but ready-rolled and already lining a baking tin is genius. Buy a stack. Keep them in the freezer (they can be baked from frozen) and you can whip up a filling any old time, sweet or savoury. My first trial below is, if I say it myself, a triumph. Watch this space for more to come.

Serves 6 as a starter or 4 as a main course with a salad

Ingredients

1 x 230g Saxby’s pastry flan case

For the filling:

2 large eggs
2 oz (50 g) butter
1 lb 8 oz (700 g) onions, chopped fairly small
4 fl oz (110 ml) double cream
1 dessertspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus a few small sprigs for the top
1 level tablespoon grated parmesan
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

You will also need a small, solid baking sheet.

Begin this by beating the eggs ready for the filling, then brush the inside of the pastry case with a little of the beaten egg. Prick the pastry base with a fork and place it in its foil case on to the baking sheet and bake it for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Then, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).

Meanwhile, you can be preparing the filling. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, then add the chopped onions, stir to get them well coated in the butter, and cook them (uncovered) over a medium heat for about half an hour until they have reduced and turned a deep brown. Give them a stir from time to time to prevent them catching on the bottom of the pan and, if at the end of the time they haven't turned almost mahogany brown, turn the heat up and cook for a further 10 minutes.

After that spread the onions all over the base of the pre-baked tart case. Whisk the cream into the beaten eggs along with the chopped thyme and some seasoning, and pour as much of this mixture over the onions as possible (depending on how much the onions have reduced, there may be a tiny spot left over). Finally sprinkle the parmesan and the small sprigs of thyme over the top, return the tart to the oven and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the filling is puffy and golden brown when it is removed from the the oven. Let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving.

How to Cheat Hero Ingredient: