Caramelised Balsamic and Red Onion Tarts with Goats' Cheese

Makes 8 Scroll to the bottom of the page to see questions Lindsey has answered about this recipe.

Vegetarian

This recipe is from Delia's Complete How to Cook.

The long, slow cooking of red onions and balsamic vinegar gives a lovely sweet, concentrated caramel consistency.

These are then spooned into crisp cheese pastry cases and topped with melted goats' cheese and sage. Serve them as a special first course with some balsamic-dressed salad leaves, or 2 tarts per person make a brilliant light lunch.

The Delia Online Cookery School: There are more recipes for quiches and tarts in our video, to watch just click the recipe image to play.

Got a question on Delia's recipes? Ask Lindsey

Ask a Question

Can I make this in one large tin?

Asked by: Deirdremcfadden

Dear Lindsey I would like to make the caramelised balsamic and red onion tarts with goats cheese but don't have any mini flan tins. I wondered if I could use this recipe for a large (23.5cm) flan tin ? Thanks Deirdre

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Deidre, Yes you could do that. You might not need to use all the pastry. Kind regards Lindsey

Freezing Caramelised Balsamic and Red Onion Tartlets with Goats' Cheese

Asked by: James Cairns

Would it be ok to freeze your 'Caramelised Balsamic and Red Onion Tarts with Goats Cheese' recipe, as there are only two of us and I'm never happy scaling down the ingredients for only two persons? Or would it be alright to do this?

Answered by Lindsey: Hello, Yes, you can make them as per the recipe and then open freeze them before the final bake. Once frozen solid you can wrap them in foil or put them into a suitable container and keep them for up to 4 months. Then on the day you want to serve them, unwrap them and pop onto a baking tray whilst they are still frozen, then either leave them to deforest or give them and extra 5 minutes in the oven. Kind regards Lindsey

Method

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.

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.

You can also watch how to chop onions in our Cookery School Video on this page.

Then let the mixture cool until you are ready to make the tarts. 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.

Ingredients

For the filling:

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 lb (900 g) red onions, very finely sliced

2 x 100 g goats' cheeses

1 oz (25 g) butter

1 level dessertspoon chopped fresh sage

8 sage leaves

a little olive oil

cayenne for sprinkling

salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the cheese pastry:

3 oz (75 g) butter, at room temperature

6 oz (175 g) plain flour

2 oz (50 g) strong Cheddar cheese, grated

½ level teaspoon mustard powder

pinch cayenne

1 egg, beaten

Equipment

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.