I don’t bake savory things often, so when I do, I usually take a poll of what people would like me to attempt. When I asked the office about a savory tart – everyone immediately said cheese and onion tart. So of course, I went off in search of a cheese and onion tart that captured my interest and came upon this one.

After a few tweaks, I was fairly pleased with the way it turned out. So I made it again for Christmas brunch when I was in the States, and it was a hit!

Originally I presented this tart in a rectangular tin, which I actually prefer. These round tart images are from Christmas morning. I don’t know why, I just liked the angular nature of the rectangular tart with the round onions. Meh. Either way, it still tasted good!

Ingredients

• 1 batch of shortcrust pastry
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 4 small red onions
• fresh thyme
• balsamic vinegar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup double cream
• 100 grams soft goat’s cheese
• pancetta strips

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C), with a metal cookie sheet in the oven. Line your tart pan with the shortcrust pastry and trim off the extra from the edges. Line the pastry with some baking paper and fill with your pie weights. Place your pastry into the oven on the preheated pan and blind bake for 10 minutes. Next, remove the pie weights and allow your pastry to bake for a further 5 minutes.

2. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Slice the onions, keeping their layers together. Gently place them into the heated oil along with a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Allow them to cook on both sides until caramelized – then remove from the heat to a paper towel and brush with some balsamic vinegar.

3. Reduce the heat of your oven to  375°F (190°C). Then, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together your eggs and cream, adding a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning. Crumble up your goat’s cheese, filling the pastry case, then pour the egg mixture over the cheese, not quite to the top. You’ll need to leave some space to allow for displacement when you put the onions in!

4. Carefully arrange the onions on the top of your tart, then top up the egg mixture if necessary. Add in a few sprigs of fresh thyme, as well as the pancetta strips, arranging however you’d like.

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until set and just turning brown.