Puff pastry (or any kind of pastry) is usually off the menu in our house because of our low-carb diet, but tomorrow is a special day. This weekend we're celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We've got Monday and Tuesday off work and there will be celebrations in towns all over the country all weekend. My church is having a special Jubilee lunch to accompany the parade which the town is hosting. We'll be having sandwiches, potatoes, quiche, salads and all kinds of yummy desserts. I decided to make a savoury tart to contribute.
The trick to making this tart delicious is caramelizing the onions. If you've never done this before, you're missing out. Caramelizing onions brings out their natural sugar and makes them taste fantastic. It's not difficult, just a little time-consuming. Start off by cutting the onions in half and then cutting them into very thin slices. Cook the onions on medium high in a generous amount of olive oil until they start to become translucent, then turn the heat down low and continue to cook until golden brown. They'll look kind of mushy, but that's OK! Just make sure you keep the heat low and stir them regularly. Towards the end you'll have to keep a closer eye on them because they burn easily. Also keep in mind that they shrink a lot, so use more onion than you think you'll need.
Here's what my onions looked like as they started to caramelize. I continued to cook these for 5 or 10 minutes after this point so that they were mostly brown all over. They took 30-35 minutes to cook.
Mushroom, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Tart
Ingredients
250 grams puff pastry
2 small to medium onions, caramelized
3 or 4 large mushrooms, sliced and cooked until done
About 100 grams cream cheese, softened
handful of grated Parmesan cheese
cooked spinach, chopped (I used frozen)
mixed herbs
garlic powder
fresh chopped chives
pepper
grated cheddar cheese
Directions
Roll out puff pastry on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 220C (430 F).
Meanwhile, mix together cream cheese, spinach, Parmesan cheese, mixed herbs, garlic powder, chives and pepper.
Spread cream cheese mixture onto partially baked puff pastry. (Poke some holes in the pastry and squeeze the excess air out first.)
Top with onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese.
Bake at 220 for 10 or 15 minutes until cheese is melted and pastry has browned around the edges.
Let cool and cut into squares before serving.
Also check out my Patriotic nails and flower decorations :)
I got the mugs from Robert Dyas (2 for £3).
