Goat’s cheese, red onion and caraway seed tart

What a blast we had when we visited a goat farm down in Wales! Linda and her son, the farmers, showed such care and respect to the animals, and the cheese they produced was fantastic – delicate, not chalky, very fresh and rich. Goat’s cheese takes sweetness well, so here we’ve paired it with an onion marmalade cut with balsamic vinegar and some caraway seeds. These flavours work well with any goat’s cheese.

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry

• 225 g (8 oz) plain flour, plus extra for kneading
• 75 g (3 oz) chilled butter, cut into cubes
• 75 g (3 oz) chilled lard, cut into cubes
• salt

Onion marmalade

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil or vegetable oil
• 80 g (3 oz) unsalted butter
• 800 g (1 lb 14 oz) red onions, finely sliced
• 160 g (5½ oz) caster sugar
• ¾ tbsp caraway seeds, toasted in a dry frying pan
• 80 ml (2¾ fl oz) balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Filling

• 2 eggs
• 200 ml (7 fl oz) double cream
• 200 g (7 oz) goat’s cheese, sliced
• fresh tarragon and coriander, 
• use leaves only, to garnish
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chilling time 30 minutes

Instructions

To make the shortcrust pastry, put the flour and a pinch of salt into a food-processor. Add the butter and lard, and blitz to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Transfer this to a mixing bowl. (If you don’t have a food-processor, mix the butter and lard into the flour with your fingertips in a mixing bowl.) Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water – just enough to be able to bring the mixture together into a ball.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly until smooth. Roll out the pastry to a size that will line the base and sides of a 25 cm (10 in) loose-bottomed flan tin. Press the pastry well into the crease between the base and the sides, prick the pastry base all over with a fork, and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.

Line the tart case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans, and blind bake for 15 minutes. Take out, remove the beans and parchment and return the pastry to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until the base is golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

To make the onion marmalade, heat a large frying pan, add the oil and butter and heat until starting to foam. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes on a low to medium heat, stirring regularly. Stir in the sugar and cover the pan, then cook for a further 10–15 minutes until the juices have come out of the onions.

Uncover the pan and increase the heat, and continue cooking for about 20 minutes to reduce all the juices. While the juices are being reduced, preheat the oven 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

When the onion mixture starts to reach the consistency of jam, add the toasted caraway seeds. When the mixture reaches the consistency of marmalade, take the pan off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

To make the filling, beat the eggs with the cream in a jug or bowl. Mix in the onion marmalade and pour into the blind-baked pastry case. Arrange the goat’s cheese on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Garnish with a scattering of tarragon and coriander leaves.

Recipe from The Incredible Spice Men by Cyrus Todiwala and Tony Singh (BBC Books, $49.99, hbk, available here)

View all the recipes from The Incredible Spice Men.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.