Caramelised Balsamic And Red Onion Tarts With Goats Cheese - pastry

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).
• You will also need eight 31/2 inch (9 cm) diameter x 1 inch (2.5 cm) high mini flan tins, greased, and a 5 inch (13 cm) pastry cutter or plate to cut around.
• First make up the pastry by rubbing the butter lightly on to the flour, then adding the cheese, mustard and cayenne plus just enough cold water to make a smooth dough. Then place the dough in a polythene bag to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. After that, roll it out as thinly as possible and use a 5 inch (13 cm) cutter, or a saucer or something similar, to stamp out 8 rounds. Line the greased tins with them, then bake in the oven, centre shelf, for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through but not coloured. Then cool the pastry cases on a wire rack and store them in an airtight tin until they are needed.
• To make the filling, melt the butter in a heavy-based, medium-sized saucepan, stir in the onions, balsamic vinegar and chopped sage, season and let everything cook very gently without a lid, stirring often, for about 30 minutes until they have reduced down and taken on a lovely glazed appearance and all the excess liquid has evaporated away. Then let the mixture cool until you are ready to make the tarts.
• To bake them, brush a little beaten egg on to each pastry case, pop them back into the oven, same temperature as above, for 5 minutes - this helps to provide a seal for the pastry and helps it from becoming soggy. Now spoon the onion mixture into the cases. Top each one with a slice of goats' cheese and a sage leaf that has first been dipped into olive oil. Finally sprinkle with a little cayenne and bake for 20 minutes.