Goats Cheese and Caramelised Red Onion Tart

Dear Foodies,
      I made this tart because my brother has had a craving for a goats cheese and red onion tart for sometime and we couldn't find one in Tesco's anywhere. I thought this would be very complicated but when split into little seperate tasks it is actually a really easy and delicious tart to make from scratch.

Ingredients:

• 4oz Plain Flour
• 2oz Butter
• 3tbsp Ice Cold Water
• 6 Red Onions
• 2tbsp White Wine Vinegar
• 1tbsp Soft Brown Sugar
• 1tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 150g Goats Cheese
• 2 eggs
• 100ml Milk

How to Make:
    
Pastry

• Sieve flour and rub in butter (this can be done by blitzing in the mixer).
• Add the water slowly until the mixture has combined.
• Wrap pastry in cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of 20 mins.

Red Onions

• Thinly slice the red onions and place in a pan with a knob of butter.
• Cook on a high heat until the onions begin to soften.
• Add sugar, white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar and simmer for 20 mins.
• By adding the sugar this recipe cheats the caramalisation process however the longer you simmer this the better it will be.

Pastry Base:

• Roll out the pastry to 5 mm thick and place in a lined, buttered, tart tin.
• Trim edges and prick the bottom with a fork.
• Place a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans - bake for 15 mins at 180 degrees celcius.
• Lift out baking beans and bake for a further 10 mins.

Putting it all together:

• Place onions in the bottom of the pastry base.
• Cover with crumbled \goats cheese (you could also add some roasted courgettes at this point)
• Whisk together eggs, milk and seasoning of your choice and taste together and pour over the onions and goats cheese.
• Bake at 180 for 25-30 mins

Heat onions until soft

 Add sugar and vinegars

 The bottom onion layer with cheese on top

One with courgettes

Enjoy xx

An Olympic Snack: Courgette and Chocolate Brownie

Dear Foodies,
      As you will be able to tell by the number of courgette based recipes that I am likely to publish over the month of August  courgettes are in season; and as one of the few vegetables we always have success with, our kitchen is inundated by a plethora of courgettes. Combining this with the Olympics, something that is on everyone's mind in England and will be through August, I decided to make courgette and chocolate brownies. For me this is ground baking cookery and while not necessarily healthy, having a vegetable as a sweet treat does feel healthy. So here is how to make my courgette and chocolate brownies which perfectly sum up the Olympic spirit and were enjoyed in our household while watching Bradley Wiggins making British Olympic history.

Ingredients:

• 125g Butter
• 100g Dark Chocolate
• 300g Soft Brown Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 150 ml Milk
• 350g Plain Flour
• 2tbsp Baking Powder
• 4tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 450g (roughly 5) Courgettes Grated
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract 

How to Make:

• Line a 20x30cm Baking tin with foil or baking paper and then butter spread a thin layer of butter on the foil/paper (I do this with a paper towel). 
• Cream butter and sugar together (I prefer to do this in a mixer but both doing it by hand and with a mixer it is essential that the butter is soft).
• To the creamed butter mixture add the eggs one at a time, mixing continually, add the milk in the same way.
• Melt the dark chocolate in a glass bowl over boiling water - once cooled at the the butter, sugar, milk and egg mixture.
• Peel skins from the courgettes and then grate.  
• To the chocolatey cake mixture sieve in flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and vanilla extract.
• Once the dry ingredients are combined, stir in the grated courgette then tip mixture into the prepared tin, spreading evenly.  
• Bake for 25-35 mins at 180 degrees Celsius or until a skewer comes out clean.

Line and butter tin.

Grate courgettes

Mix in the grated courgettes

Yummy Yummy Yummy



 WARNING: These brownies may not increase our Olympic medal tally but will increase your enjoyment of the Games!

Enjoy xx