Roasted tomato tart with double-cheese crust

1 of 5-a-day 400 kcal or less easy recipes entertaining garden party heritage tomatoes mains make ahead over an hour picnic summer vegetarian

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Source

Ingredients

3-4 onions , sliced

1 tbsp butter

olive oil , for drizzling

2 tsp sugar , plus a pinch

2 thyme sprigs leaves stripped, plus an extra sprig

5 sage leaves, shredded then finely chopped

85g fresh breadcrumb

25g fresh parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated

500g tomato (a mix of varieties looks great), thickly sliced

300g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

100g cold butter , cubed

85g mature cheddar , cubed

½ tsp salt

25g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated

green salad , to serve (optional)

Method

Make the pastry first. Put the flour, butter, cheddar and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times, just until the butter and cheese are in smaller pieces. Measure 150ml of very cold water into a jug. Drizzle the water into the pastry, little by little, pulsing between additions, until it comes together into a rough ball – it will feel quite doughy. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hr.

Meanwhile, in a pan over a low heat, very gently soften the onions in the butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir in the sugar, thyme and sage, turn up the heat and cook for a few mins more until golden and sticky. Season and set aside to cool a little.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Dust a big baking sheet with more flour, then roll out the pastry on it to a rough circle, a little more than 0.5cm thick. Mix the onions with the breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

Leaving a good 5cm border all the way round, spread the onion mixture over the base, then arrange the tomatoes on top. Hand-roll and pinch the pastry edges up around the filling, pressing firmly to hold. Scatter over more thyme, plenty of seasoning and a pinch of sugar. Can now be covered and chilled for up to 12 hrs.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 25 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a big salad, if you like.