RECIPE - Miss Sue Flay's Red Onion & Pancetta Tartlets

OK...I did make this recipe up slightly, however they went down so well...and my guests have been asking me for the recipe..... So from memory it goes something a little bit like this.....

Red Onion & Pancetta Tartlets
Makes around 24 Mini Tartlets

(You can also make these minus the meat for a veggie option...I used the red onion mix and put some Red Leicester cheese in the mixture for my veggie guest and she loved them : )

Pastry Cases:

200g Plain Flour, Plus extra to dust
Pinch of salt
100g Unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

OR You could use pre-made pastry from the supermarket....Admitedly I did this time, and I used half of a long box from the chiller cabinet!

For the Filling:

1 Jar of Red Onion Relish or Chutney (Any of your choice- I used from a local farmshop)
1 Red Onion, finely sliced
1 Pack of Pancetta (Approx 200g)
3 Eggs
200ml Double Cream
100ml Milk ( I used Skimmed)
Salt & Pepper to season
Italian Mixed Herbs (Dried) to taste


To make the pastry (If you decide to MAKE it!):

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and stir in the butter. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until it resembles fine crumbs.

2. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cold water, then stir with a knife until it clumps together – add a little more water if it's dry.

3. Bring the mixture together to a rough ball. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead very briefly until you have a smooth, firm dough – do not overwork as you'll end up with tough pastry!

4. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes – this relaxes the gluten in the flour and stops it shrinking during cooking.

To make the tarts:

Preheat the oven to 180*C.

Roll the pastry out flat (approx. 0.5cm in thickness) and using a 5cm cutter, cut out as many circles as you can until the pastry runs out!
Then, with a rolling pin, just flatten out each circle a little more, stretching it once each way to make the circle a little larger (But not too thin that they break...If they do, just make a new ball of dough with the broken pieces and start again with them! Not a problem)

Push each round of pastry into a deep cupcake/muffin tin and gently push down and shape them flat against the walls of the mould.

Chill in the fridge for a further 15 minutes (As this will now be warm after working it!).

Meanwhile, fry off the Pancetta (Do the onion first if you are offering vegetarian options!) and add the onion until softened. Take off the heat so that this does not burn.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk for a few seconds. Then add the Cream and Milk and whisk together until well blended.
Add the Italian Herbs and Salt & Pepper to taste. 
Mix again to incorporate.

Take the Red Onion Relish/Chutney and place a teaspoon of this into the bottom of each chilled pastry case.
Top with a little filling (If Veggie options, top with some onion before adding the bacon to the rest! along with a sprinkling of cheese)

And then gently spoon some of the cream mixture on top...the tarts will not need much of this mxture, so use a table spoon and go slowly so as not to overfil them....you want to try to make them look as clean as possible...if they overflow they tend to look messy once cooked.

If there is any mixture leftover, you can just cook this off in a decadent Omelette or Souffle if you are feeling hungry so as not to waste any!

Bake for 20 Minutes or until golden.

Best served warm.

Enjoy : )

xxx