Tasty Tart

So, I did my Bootea diet, which I actually liked doing and will be doing again before my friends wedding, but definitely went back to my old ways quite quickly (especially after my lovely but greedy boyfriend came home) and got right back into making creamy, fatty, yummy things.

This quiche is, again, a really simple dish that is satisfying and tasty and Ashley loves it. It's cheesy, sharp, oniony, and has a bit of bite in it from the mustard. I use Paul Hollywoods pastry recipe as it's the best one I've used so far - it doesn't crack or split and it keeps it's shape in the oven. I'm not a pro at crimping though so the photo is simplistic to say the least, but you get the idea.

One of the best things about this recipe is the ingredients can be changed and altered to suit different tastes. With the milk/egg base for the quiche so many different flavours can be added - to keep it traditional broccoli and stilton, or some ham or bacon, roasted peppers, or could put some char-grilled vegetables like courgette and aubergine in with some chillies and various herbs and spice to mix it up. However, this recipe is just a simple one that pleases many palettes.

Cheese, Onion, and Tomato Tart
For this you will need a 23cm loose-based fluted tart tin

Pastry
225g plain flour
120g unsalted butter
3-5tbsp ice cold water
Pinch of salt

Filling
Large knob of butter
8 small onions / 4 large onions, thinly sliced
200ml whole milk
4 medium eggs
2 egg yolks
1-1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped chives
50g grated mature cheddar cheese
1 large handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper

Pastry First

• Place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter with the finger tips until it becomes a breadcrumb mixture.
• Mix in enough cold water to bring it together. When it's brought together, knead into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or get pre-made pastry and put into a tin.....)
• Preheat your oven to 180C fan. 

Then:

• While the pastry is cooling, heat the butter in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan and cook the onions on a low heat until browned - for around 30 minutes when sticky and brown.
• Take the pastry out of the fridge. Lightly flour a surface and roll out thinly to fit the tart tin with a little bit hanging over the edges. 
• Fill the tart tin with the pastry then get a piece of baking parchment (a big square piece) with your hands and scrunch into a ball, then flatten it out into the middle of the tin and push it into the sides. Pour in the baking beans/dry rice/pasta that you choose to use, and bake for 15 minutes.  
• Remove from the oven, remove the baking beans and then put back into the oven and bake for a further 8 minutes. 
• Remove and begin to fill.

And then the filling:

• While the pastry is cooking or after it's come out of the oven, mix the eggs, egg yolk, milk, chives, mustard, salt and pepper in a jug until well mixed.
• Arrange the browned onions and grated cheese on the pastry, then arrange the tomato halves on top. Pour the milk/egg mix over the top - when I do this I try to pour it in between the tomatoes so they stand out when cooking but for flavour it doesn't matter. Also, if you're not confident at moving a full tart from the side to the oven, place the flan on a baking tray in the oven then pour in the milk/egg mix when while on the tray and slide into the oven.
• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
• Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing. 
• Serve with salad, jacket potato or coleslaw. 

I only took one photo of this and it was a mini one I made on the side but I think it looks quite satisfying....

So the sound track for this one was a Kisstory so was a bit of a mixture but a couple of my favourites were the following: