As soon as I heard the theme for this week I knew what I would be making. A friend baked it for me at university and so I knew that this week I would be attempting to recreate her Goat's Cheese and Red Onion Tart. Having never made pastry on my own before (the only other time being when I was younger and helped mum make mince pies) I was preparing myself and my family who would be tasting it for another Baked Alaska (see last week's bake) or the cockney rhyming slang we now use... 'Baked Disaster'!
I couldn't find the exact recipe that my friend used to make this dish before so I've used a combination of Delia Smith's pastry recipe and a Lemon Squeezy recipe which then turned it into a quiche.
Ingredients- 4 oz plain flour
- a pinch of salt
- 2 oz butter
- 3 eggs
- 200ml milk
- 4 red onions
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 150g goat's cheese
Ok let's start! First, I made the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and then rubbed the butter into the flour after cutting it into cubes. You shouldn't do this for too long, just until you have thoroughly combined butter and flour breadcrumbs.
I then added two tablespoons of water to enable me to get it all together. After getting the dough in my hands to make sure that it was all neatly in a ball, I wrapped it in cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
I used this time to prepare the rest of the bake as well as preheating the oven to 180°C. First I greased and lined a tart tin. I chose one with a removable bottom as this will make it easier to get the tart out later on. Then I began peeling and slicing thinly the red onions before frying them in the oil in a large pan on the hob. When starting to get soft, add the balsamic vinegar and then continue to cook, stirring often to avoid burning.
At this point my pastry had finished chilling. I sprinkled some flour on the work surface before rolling it out to the right size and thickness. It took a couple of times to get it right, first being too thin and then not wide enough to cover the tin, and this worried me that my pastry would now be too rubbery. But it was too late so all I could do was lay the pastry in the tin and pray that it turned out ok.
Next push the pastry lightly into the edges of the tin and cut off excess pastry around the sides, although leave some on as the pastry might shrink back whilst baking. Now cover with a small layer of greaseproof paper and then pour baking beans on top. Now bake the pastry for 15 minutes, remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes. Then take out and cut off the excess pastry from the sides.
Remember you should still be stirring the onions at this point. Turn the hob off when you think they are done. They will be heated again in the oven but this is unlikely to cook them anymore so make sure that they are completely cooked before turning the heat off.
In a jug measure out the milk, add the eggs and then whisk until completely combined. Now all that was left was to add the filling. I covered the bottom of the tart with the onion and then crumbled the goat's cheese on top before filling the tart case half up with some of the egg mixture. Then transfer (on a tray to avoid spilling) to the oven before pouring in the rest of the mixture or until the case is full.
Now bake the quiche for 25 minutes, checking that the centre is completely cooked (not liquidy) before taking out of the oven. At this point I struggled to get the tart out of the tin, but with a lot of perseverance and a sharp knife I eventually managed to get it out. I served it with new potatoes and salad and was given a thumbs up from the family!
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