Hello, Bitches!

My onion and toasted seed tart ticks many boxes: cheap, filling, easy — and a little bit cheesey.

I am somewhat obsessed with toasted seeds at the moment, so had them to hand and chucked them in on a last minute creative culinary whim. They are so versatile, adding texture and flavour to porridge, salads, pies and tarts. They’re also good for upping the protein content if you are catering for vegans.

Seedy goodness …

If you’re not in the grip of a toasted seed obsession and  don’t have a vat of them handy, it’s easy to toast them. Lightly oil a baking tray or large pan. Place pan on the hob. Allow the oil to heat in the pan before adding seeds. They then heat VERY fast and start popping — remove them from heat at this point.

However, being a highly distractible slowmo, I prefer using the baking tray method. Lay the seeds on the tray and put them in a the oven at 200 c for between five and ten minutes.The seeds should be lightly browned. Remove them from the oven and put to one side.Turn the oven down slightly to 190c.

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 125g plain flour
• 25g wholemeal flour ( you can use all white. Spelt flour works fine too.)
• inch of salt
• 65g butter
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• 900g onions (this works out at about four large onions)
• 25g butter
• 50g cheese (cheddar or gruyere. Gruyere beats cheddar anyday in my book, but I used cheap cheddar due to a change in fortunes and it still tasted damn fine)
• 300ml double cream or creme fraiche.

Get cooking!

1. Chop the onions finely, and put a good glug of olive oil in a pan. The onions need to be heated on low to medium heat for half an hour so that they are really soft but not brown.
2. Whilst the onions are slowly softening, you can make the pastry.I have found the key to good pastry is cold butter, cold water and handling it as little as possible after the first stage; rubbing the cold,  small dice of butter into the flour. When the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, make a well in the middle and add the water.
3. Using your fingers or a knife, mix until the dough forms a ball. Add more water if it seems dry but handle as little as possible. Do not knead. Heed my cautionary tale: I kneaded some pastry once when I made the fatal mistake of cooking early in the morning. I don’t think straight pre-midday, so halfway through I thought I was making scones and gave the dough a good old knead. I realised my mistake and hoped for the best. The best turned out to be not unlike cardboard. Pastry:don’t touch too much.
4. Flour your surface and rolling pin. Roll the pastry into a circle roughly ten inches in diameter. Keep flouring your surface and rolling pin so that the pastry doesn’t stick.Ease the pastry into your tin or dish. Trim off any surplus pastry, neaten the edges and put it in the fridge whilst you prepare the filling.
5. To make the filling beat the eggs, add the cream or creme fraiche, and season with salt and pepper. Allow the onions to cool when the half hour has elapsed.Grate approximately half the cheese in the mixture. Grate the rest of the cheese in a seperate bowl. Add toasted seeds to the mixture. I added two big handfuls. The amount depends on your liking for seeds and a crunchy texture. I’d say 50g is adequate. Now add the onions and mix together to combine all the ingredients.Pour the filling into the pastry shell and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
6. Place in the centre of the oven and cook for approximately 30 mins.

This tart can be eaten hot or cold, so it is a great addition to any picnic or makes a hearty main meal.

Love, Panda Bear xx

Simple, delicious