Red Onion & Blue Cheese Tart Thingie

Not entirely sure what one calls this as it’s not a tart per se, more of a sheet of puff pastry with stuff on top.  Anyway, it was absolutely delicious, easy and cheap and I have to thank Yvonne at HeyPesto! for the suggestion of what to do with my left-over Cashel Blue (from the Stuffed Burgers).

Lu from Lolalus Kitchen also recommended blue cheese soufflé, which sounds bleedin’ amazing, but the ‘s’ word will have to wait until I’ve earned a few more culinary stripes methinks.

The recipe is literally as per Yvonne’s instructions, except for a few bits added here and there, mostly to satiate my carnivorous leanings! My new freezer favourite is definitely these puff pastry sheets if you can eventually locate them in the supermarkets (they’re usually buried somewhere between chips and ice-cream, not having their own section to themselves *sniff, sniff*).

They’re cheap as chips and just about any leftovers languishing at the back of the fridge can be added to the top, from tomatoes, ham and mozzarella to goats cheese, spinach and chorizo. Definitely a must-have for a peckish Sunday afternoon or hurried post-work supper.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (if you’ve time on your hands, recipe here)
• 200g-odd blue cheese (about half a Cashel Blue pack)
• 5 smoked rashers, sliced (or handful lardons if not counting calories)
• 6 red onions, sliced finely into rings
• 1 drop olive oil + 1 tbsp pesto + 1 dash balsamic vingegar
• Pinch black pepper + salt
• Side salad, to serve

Instructions

1. Carmelise the onions first – Heat skillet over medium heat, and add oil.  Allow to heat enough to make a droplet of water sizzle.  Then throw in all the red onion rings and sauté lightly, stirring regularly, for two minutes. Then reduce the heat, cover and cook for another three minutes. Finally, uncover and cook for another 20 minutes.   It’ll all be worth it, trust me. When cooked, add dash of balsamic vinegar and some light seasoning.
2. Roll out defrosted puff pastry sheet flat. Smear thin layer of pesto on top, then spread red onion mixture across length, leaving about an inch around the sides free for the pastry to puff up.
3. Add bacon on top and crumble the blue cheese across.  Season, and pop in the oven on a baking tray for about 20 minutes at 180°C, keeping a close eye that it doesn’t start to char.
4. Serve with side salad and nice glass of something dry. Ridiculously easy and tasty!