Two vegetarian tarts, one cheese, two very simple recipes
I love puff pastry, I love goats’ cheese, I love caramelised onion and sunblush tomatoes….what could I do with all those ingredients?
The purpose of this blog has always been to make delicious food simple, so that everyone can try it out, even those that aren’t overly confident in the kitchen.
Have you ever wondered how to make a caramelised onion and goats’ cheese tart? Ever wondered about any variations on the usual shortcrust pastry or different ingredients to use with the goats’ cheese?
This is what I love doing. Coming up with my own variations on some classic dishes. And, of course, making them in as simple and quick a way as possible, then sharing it with my blog readers 🙂
So here you have 2 simple recipes, ideal for a quick weekend lunch or for a ‘light’ (in texture, not necessarily in calories!!) dinner, perfect if you have vegetarian guests.
Caramelised Red Onion and Goats’ Cheese Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
- 1 small log of creamy goats’ cheese (you can choose whichever goats’ cheese you like. The one I used is very mild and creamy, but you can go for a stronger flavour if you prefer)
- 1 large chunk (ca. 80g) of lightly salted butter
- 2tsp dark muscovado sugar
- a pinch of salt
Method
- Finely slice the onions (ideally using a Mandolin)
- Place the butter in a large non-stick frying pan, turn the heat up high
- Once the butter starts sizzling, add the onions
- Season with a pinch of salt
- Stir regularly to allow to brown all over
- Once the onions are soft but still quite pale, add the sugar and stir in
- Keep the heat up at all times, stirring from time to time to caramelise the onions. Don’t let them go too dark as they’ll darken some more in the oven. When you taste them, they should be soft and slightly sweet.
- Lay out the sheet of pastry onto a baking tray (keep the parchment/greaseproof paper as a liner so you don’t have to grease or line your tin separately)
- Let the onions cool for a few minutes, then spread out over the pastry, leaving a small gap around the edges
- Slice the cheese into ca.3mm thick slices and place over the onions, leaving fairly even gaps
- Fold over the edges of the pastry and press down with your fingers to give them an appealing ‘wavy’ appearance when baked
- Place in a pre-heated oven (180°C fan-assisted, 200° if not)
- Bake for approx. 20 mins or until puff pastry has risen around the edges and is golden…the onions should have gone dark.
- Serve on its own or with a side salad of rocket leaves drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze
Sunblush Tomato and Goats’ Cheese Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
- 1 small log of creamy goats’ cheese (you can choose whichever goats’ cheese you like. The one I used is very mild and creamy, but you can go for a stronger flavour if you prefer)
- 1 pack of Sunblush Tomatoes in oil (I used Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference SunBlush Red and Yellow baby plum tomatoes, but you can use any similar tomatoes in oil – not dry, as you need the moisture for this tart)
Method
- Lay out the sheet of pastry onto a baking tray (keep the parchment/greaseproof paper as a liner so you don’t have to grease or line your tin separately)
- Pick up the tomatoes with your hands or a slotted spoon so you don’t take too much of the oil with them, then spread them out over the pastry, leaving a small gap around all edges
- Slice the cheese into ca.3mm thick slices and place over the tomatoes, leaving fairly even gaps
- Fold over the edges of the pastry and press down with your fingers to give them an appealing ‘wavy’ appearance when baked
- Place in a pre-heated oven (180°C fan-assisted, 200° if not)
- Bake for approx. 20 mins or until puff pastry has risen around the edges and is golden
- Serve on its own or with a side salad. You could use the remaining oil from the tomatoes as seasoning.
Gloriously Good, Gloriously Simple!
