Pastry is definitely not a health food. It contains fat, salt and processed white flour which I know very well should occupy only the tiniest a tiny corner of our diet. Eaten too often, or in too big a portion, it will tip the weighing scales in the wrong direction and more.
But it can be delicious. If you think of pastry as a very thin crisp shell to holda delicately flavoured, softly set filling containing lots of caramelised onions and accompanied by a crisp, shredded red cabbage salad you begin to mitigate itseffect.
My motto is: eat pastry at it's best and do as the French do - eat a little less of something else the next day.
Simon Hopkinson's
Thyme, onion and Gruyère tart from his beautiful book The Vegetarian Option is a classic pastry dish.
First Simon teaches you to make good, thin, crisp short crust pastry and then he shows you how to fill it with the simplest, most delicious filling. The thing about Simon is when you cook his recipes he makes you a better cook because he explains things carefully and does things properly. He is a cook that does not cut corners.
He is not a vegetarian but like me likes to make the best of vegetables and place them in the centre of a meal. The Vegetarian Option is a wonderful book and brings both joy to the cook, because the recipes are so good, and joy to the table because everyone loves to eat them.
The recipe below is adapted slightly but it remains true to the crisp shell of pastry filled with a memorable soft set, savoury cheesy custard on P154 of his book. I claim no credit for it apart from bringing it to your attention.
Onion and Gruyère tart
Serves 6
For the pastry
- 60g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 100g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp very, very cold water
For the filling
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 750g white onions peeled and very thinly sliced
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 150ml double cream
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp thyme leaves (I used rosemary as my thyme has died!)
- salt and black pepper
- 40g Gruyère, grated
- freshly grated nutmeg
Method
Process the butter, flour and salt together in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Dribble the cold water into the bowl and briefly process until the mixture comes together in a ball. Place the ball of pastry in a polythene bag and place it in the fridge for half an hour or more if you have time.
For the filing place the oil in a large frying pan and tip in the onions and sweat them over a moderate heat for about 40 minutes when they should be beginning to brown. Scrape any brown caramelised onions from the base of the pan and stir well.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and place a flat baking sheet inside to heat. This will help the base of the tart to cook to a crisp wafer.
Roll out the pastry as thin as you dare on a well floured board. Work quickly and try to keep the pastry cool. Line either a 20cm tart tin or 4 small tartlet tins with the pastry and prick the base of each with a fork. Line the pastry case with foil and cover with dried(or ceramic pastry) beans. Place the tart on the preheated baking tray and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until the base is crisp and slightly browned.
Mix together the egg and egg yolks, cream mustard and herbs. Mix in the caramelised onions, season and pile the mixture into the pastry case. Sprinkle with the grated Gruyère and nutmeg. Bake in the oven for a further 40 minutes, or 30 minutes if you are making smaller tartlets. The filling should be golden brown and firm to touch.
