PARMESAN TART WITH CARAMELISED SHALLOTS
Ingredients :
1 Empire Pastry Butter Shortcrust pastry shell, blind baked (see notes)
FOR THE FILLING:
150ml sour cream or crème fraîche
3 eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 egg yolks
150g orange marmalade
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
FOR THE CARAMELISED SHALLOTS:
400g shallots, peeled and finely sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
¼ cup red wine
Method :
Step 1: Preheat oven to 190°C
Step 2: Whisk the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell and bake for 15-20 minutes until filling is just set. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Step 3: For the caramelised shallots, heat olive oil and butter together in a medium frying pan, add the sliced shallots with a pinch of sea salt, stir, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Add the vinegar, brown sugar and red wine. Cook uncovered for another 10 minutes, stirring often until the shallots are tender and the liquid is reduced to a glaze.
TO SERVE:
Pile caramelised shallots over warm tart and serve with a fresh green salad and crusty bread.
NOTES:
Cooked tart can be made ahead and rewarmed in the oven.
Shallots can be cooked a couple of days in advance and kept refrigerated – warm gently to serve.
TO BAKE BLIND:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 190°C
Step 2: Line tart shell with baking paper and fill with baking beans. (You can use raw chickpeas, rice, kidney beans, or any other dried grain or legume). Scrunch the baking paper up and then “un-scrunch” it before lining the pastry shells – it makes it softer and less likely to cut into the pastry.
Step 3: Bake tart shell for 10-12 minutes.
Step 4: Carefully remove paper and beans and bake for another 3-5 minutes until the pastry is cooked through (no damp bits on the bottom).
Step 5: Store cooled baking beans in an airtight container; they are no longer suitable for consumption but can be re-used multiple times for baking blind.
