Dreamy Goat's Cheese, Thyme & Caramelised Onion Quiche

                    Goat's Cheese, Thyme &  Carmelised Onion Quiche

I adore cheese and these Goat's Cheese Tartlettes are so delicious. Now if your not too keen on Goat's cheese these will work equally as well with some lovely strong cheddar or a mixture of cheddar & gruyere. You could use basil or oregano in place of the thyme.

The pastry is the one I make for virtually everything. It's a lovely rich & crumbly shortcrust. Be really kind to it. Don't overmix or overhandle it, be kind & gentle to it,  keep it  cool until baking and it will be just fabulous.

This recipe will make 12 x3" tartlettes or 24x 1.5" or even 1 large 8/9" tart.


To make around 12 tartlettes

If you prefer to measure your ingredients then here's the link to an Easy Conversion Chart

Pastry:-
2oz butter
2oz vegetable shortening or lard
8oz plain flour
1oz grated cheddar
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1 beaten egg to bind. perhaps a little water may be needed as well

Filling:-
2  large onions finely sliced
1 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
2 tsps brown sugar
1 oz butter
300 gms of  goats cheese log.
50 gms Boursin
2 large eggs
1/4pt double cream
few sprigs of thyme chopped
seasoning
grated nutmeg

Make the pastry by rubbing the fat with the flour until the breadcrumb stage, add the cheese & beaten egg & cayenne pepper, bring together & add a little water if necessary. Leave to rest for around 30 mins in the fridge before rolling out quite thinly.

Line the well greased tart tin (I quite often use a muffin tray if making individual tartlettes) with the pastry. Pop back in the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up.

Heat the oven to 180c/360f

If you're making a large tart... then line the pastry with baking parchment and cover with baking beans or similar.  Pre-bake for around 15 minutes, remove the beans and parchment and pop back in the oven until the pastry base is almost cooked. You won't have to pre-bake the pastry for the tartlettes...just fill as below.

Meanwhile fry the onions in the butter with a good pinch of salt  gently until soft, add the vinegar & sugar and continue to cook until caramelised.

Beat the eggs, add the Boursin cheese and cream mix through. Add the thyme a few grinds of pepper & salt.  Either mix the cooled onions in with the cream & eggs etc or place them on the pastry base, which ever you prefer.

Add to the pastry case. Don't be tempted to overfill if you've too much mixture. Thinly slice the goat's cheese log and arrange on the top. Sprinkle over a little grated nutmeg. Place the tart on a hot preheated oven tray & bake 180c/360f  for around 15 mins, turn down to 160c for another 10 mins or so until the pastry is golden brown. Just test to make sure the filling is set and the pastry at the bottom is cooked through. Leave to cool to room temperature before removing from the tin.

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