burnt toast

Sweet, meltingly soft onion, crisp buttery pastry, salty tangy goat’s cheese and the heat of cracked black pepper, the aroma of fresh thyme wafting up your nose, into the back of your head, into your heart, into your stomach, making you giddy with desire.

Have another one. I know you want to.

Caramelised Onion and Goat’s Cheese tartlets

Makes 18

Just a note on the puff pastry. The stuff we get here is different in size to what I used to get in Switzerland, so I’m sure this varies everywhere. The sheets I work with are 25cm x 25cm, so adjust accordingly.

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

6 large onions, halved and finely sliced

30g butter

3 Tbsp each of olive oil and water

2 teaspoons honey

2 tsp vegetable stock granules

3 Tbsp soy sauce

pepper

salt, if needed

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish

50-100g soft goat’s cheese, depending on how intense you want it

Take your puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw while you get on with the rest of the recipe.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Combine onions, butter, oil and water in a big frying pan. Cover and cook over low heat until onion has softened. Remove lid and add honey, stock granules, soy sauce, pepper and thyme and cook until they have taken on a lovely caramel brown colour. Remove from heat.

Cut each pastry sheet into 9 squares and prick them with a fork so they don’t puff up like crazy. Lay them out on a baking sheet. Pop in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Take them out and let them cool down.

To assemble, Top each square of pastry with some of the onion, then sprinkle over some goat’s cheese. Top with a few little leaves of the thyme and you’re ready to go.

These are best eaten on the day they are made. Not as if you’d let them last that long anyway.