Ingredients
- 2 brown onions
- 1 tbsp butter, plus extra for brushing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 sheets filo pastry 15cm x 20cm
- 16 sardine fillets
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 1 1/2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 40ml balsamic vinegar
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
Slice the onions as thinly as possible. Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and cook slowly until completely soft, but not coloured, and all the cooking liquid is reduced.Take one sheet of filo pastry, brush with butter, fold in half, then in half again, brushing butter between each layer. Repeat with the other 3 sheets of pastry so that you have 4 rectangles. Lay them on a lightly oiled baking tray, then cover with a sheet of baking paper and then a heavy, flat tray - this will compress the pastry. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Let the pastry cool, then trim the sides carefully, as the pastry will be very fragile.
Lay each rectangle of pastry with an even covering of the cooked onions and place on individual plates.
With a little oil, pan-fry the sardines skin side down just to blister and caramelise the skin for about a minute - season with salt and take care not to overcook, about 3-5 minutes.
To serve
Place the tarts on serving plates, top with onions and lay the sardine fillets on top. Sprinkle with the raisins, pine nuts and chopped parsley. Blend the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and drizzle over the tart.
