Caramelised Onion & Feta Tarts - 2 - $ - V

It has been almost a year since I last made this recipe. That's because last time I literally made hundreds of the little things as part of my bridesmaid duties.
Of course I didn't mind making them, the bride is a fabulous woman I am blessed to know and I was honoured to be part of her bridal party and catering crew for the big day.
Tomorrow will be an even bigger day. Well perhaps. Said bride is due to give birth. But if her little bub is anything like her, she'll turn up when she pleases and not necessarily when she's supposed to.


Cooking is a great way to pass the time, so if any of you find yourself waiting around for something important to happen on Sunday, get in the kitchen and whip up some of these. They are delicious and at least that's an hour gone...

This will make 12 standard size patty pan tarts or 24 mini ones.

Ingredients

2 sheets frozen, ready-rolled short crust pastry
2 large (or 3-4 small) red onions, finely chopped
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 eggs
125ml cream
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
70gms feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to season

Preheat the oven to 180C degrees.
Put the pastry out to thaw, leave the plastic sheeting on so it doesn't dry out.
Heat the oil in a small pot or pan, over a medium-low heat and add the onion. Don't use a non-stick pot or pan or the onions won't caramelise. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
Cook the onion for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The last 10 minutes you may find the onion starting to brown up or burn, in which case, get it off the heat. You want it dark gold in colour and not crunchy. Set aside to cool.
Grease the patty pan tray and cut out the pastry. If you don't have a cookie cutter, use a glass that is slightly bigger than the circumference of the patty pan hole. If the glass sticks while cutting, just dust some flour around the edge.
Line the patty pan with the pastry, gently pushing the discs into the holes so they sit flush with the edge.
Measure the cream into a jug with a pouring lip and then gently beat in the eggs until they are combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the onion mix into the pastry cases, sprinkle the feta on top and then pour on the cream and egg mixture. Pour very slowly, and don't overfill.
Cook for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown.
Leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes and then serve if you want to eat them straight away.
You can serve them cold too, I think they are better this way. Or they can be made a day ahead and reheated at a low temperature for around 15 minutes or taken to a picnic.

Enjoy!

PS. Love you Sandi & Lairdy x

Devils On Horseback - 1 - $ - !

I have just returned from Borough Market, where I saw Sophie Dahl filming a TV show, presumably to go with her new cookbook. Yes the once curvy model, who then became very thin, has written a cookbook. Take a moment to digest this (pun absolutely intended).

However, I digress. Among the plethora of amazing food on offer at this wonderful market in the centre of London, are the quintessentially British Devils On Horseback. Surely one of the greatest names ever given to a dish, don't you think?



The following recipe will make 8 skewers.

Ingredients

24 Pitted prunes
12 Rashers bacon
3tbs Mango Chutney
8 Bamboo Skewers

Soak the prunes in boiling water for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C degrees.
Drain the prunes and stuff each one with some mango chutney*.
Trim the fat from the bacon and wrap each chutney filled prune with half a slice, spearing onto a skewer to hold everything in place. Put 3 on each skewer.
Place the skewers on a tray lined with baking paper and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until bacon is crispy.
Pop on some polyester pants and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

*Please note some people like to stuff theirs with cheese.