Walnut and Parmesan Tart with Caramelised Onions

Serves 6 as a starter or 4 as a main

Preparation: Can be started a couple of days in advance - 1 hr 15 mins approx.

Cooking Time: 45 - 50 mins

This is a Guest Recipe from Lifting the Lid, A Life at Kinloch Lodge, Skye by Claire Macdonald.

Please note that the caramelised onions can be prepared a day or two in advance of cooking the flan so that you do not necessarily have to do the whole thing on the same day as the process is quite time consuming.  This is one of many delicious recipes featured in the Daily Mail Saturday Magazine.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

120g /4oz plain flour

75g / 2¾oz walnuts

1 teaspoon icing sugar

20 or so grinds of black pepper (depends on the ferocity of your grinder!!)

50g / 1¾oz Parmesan cheese, grated

One heaped desertspoon fresh thyme leaves (heaped teaspoon of dried thyme if fresh unavailable)

75g / 2¾oz cold butter, diced

For the filling:

3 tablespoons olive oil

50g /1¾oz butter

2 teaspoons Demerara sugar

1 teaspoon salt

20 or so grinds of black pepper

7 medium onions, very thinly sliced (I used English Onions)

2 large eggs and 2 yolks

100g Parmesan cheese

10 walnut halves, crushed into small pieces

300 ml / ½ pint single cream

2 tablespoons medium sherry

AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO….

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4.
 

2.    Put all the pastry ingredients into a food processor and whizz to the consistency of fairly fine crumbs. 
 

3.    Press these firmly over the base and up the sides of a 20cm (8 in) flan dish and put the dish into the fridge for at least 1 hour.
 

4.    Then bake for 20 – 25 minutes.  The sides will slip down but don’t worry – with a metal spoon, scrape them back into position and bake for a further 2-3 minutes.
 

5.    Cool the baked pastry before adding the filling.  Leave the oven on.
 

6.    In a wide sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter together and then stir in the Demerara sugar, salt and pepper.
 

7.    Add the onions to the sauté pan.  Over a moderately high heat and stirring from time to time, cook the onions for about 15 minutes and then reduce the heat a bit and cook for a further 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they cook evenly.
 

8.    The onions will collapse in quantity and become caramelised.
 

9.    Allow the onions to cool.  This stage can be done a couple of days before making the tart as the caramelised onions will keep well in the fridge.
 

10. Beat the eggs, egg yolks, Parmesan and cream together until well mixed, then stir in the sherry and finally fold in the crushed walnuts.
 

11. Spoon the cooled caramelised onions over the base of the cooled pastry and pour the walnut, cream and egg mixture in, forking it carefully through the caramelised onions.
 

12. Bake in the same moderate heat as for baking the pastry, for about 20 minutes or until the filling is just set in the centre of the tar – the last part to set.
 

13. Serve warm with a mixed leaf salad dressed with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.