Cheesy Onion Tart.....

.......with a little rocket salad & spiced pear chutney.

The marriage of cheese and onion is another 'made in heaven' .....just ask Mr TAYTO!
and as far as I'm concerned anything with cheese in it is good!

This tasty concoction is great as a simple lunch dish, adequately filling to have as an evening meal, and can even be made as individual tarts or in canape size suitable for a party.

The cheese I use is Sperrin Blue made by Dart Mountain Cheese as it's made just up the road from me in Derry...to find out more on their fabulous cheese range and other products....click HERE!
The Sperrin Blue is crumbly yet creamy with just the right amount of that distinctive blue cheese tang to marry well with the sweetness of the onions.

you can find the recipe for Spiced Pear Chutney HERE!


You will need..........

a round baking tin approx 6-7 inch in width and a good inch or more deep or feel free to use a ceramic quiche dish...I like my tarts deep, you may like them shallow so whatever is your pleasure

1 sheet of pre-rolled shortcrust pastry or approx 250g of home made shortcrust pastry
200 g sweet white onions
some butter
sea salt

100 g full fat cream cheese
80 -100 g Dart Mountain Sperrin Blue cheese
100 mls cream....yes real cream!....none of that fake stuff
6 fresh free range eggs
sea salt
black pepper
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 spring onion

How to.........

• peel, halve and finely slice the onions, place in a saucepan with a tablespoon of butter and a little sea salt
• heat until the butter melts and onions begin to sizzle but don't let them brown even the slightest
• turn the heat down low to medium then cover with a lid
• leave the onions to stew gently in their own juices until soft......then leave them to cool....you can even store them overnight in the fridge if you like
• butter your baking tin / quiche dish lightly and line with the shortcrust pastry, if you are using your own home made pastry do roll it quite thin as we will not be pre-baking the pastry case blind
• place the cooled onions into your case then crumble the blue cheese on top spreading it evenly
• whisk the eggs, cream, mustard together and season with salt and pepper
• pour the egg mixture gently over the cheese and onions
• scatter some sliced spring onion on top
• place your tart in a pre-heated oven at 160oC and bake for approx 40 mins or until the egg has set and you can see that the pastry has become brown on the edges
• serve up warm or allow to cool before eating
• store in the fridge where it will happily keep for a good 3 days, any longer and the pastry will get a bit soft on the underside

Serve with a spoonful of spiced pear chutney on the side and a simple salad of rocket leaves tossed in french style vinaigrette. The pepperyness of the rocket salad marries well with the creamy tangy cheesy tart.