Leek & Gruyere Tart with Onion Jam and Fig & Rocket Salad

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Ingredients
250ml balsamic vinegar
fresh chervil, to garnish
Tart pastry
150g plain flour
100g plain wholemeal flour
50g walnuts, finely crushed
100g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
60ml of iced water
Onion jam
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large Spanish onions, cut into thin rings
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Leek filling
25g butter
2 cups thinly sliced leek
2 sprigs thyme
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
300ml pure cream
3 eggs
200g gruyere cheese, grated
Fig and rocket salad
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 figs, cut into quarters
100g rocket leaves

Baking times for pastry and cakes will often vary slightly as every oven is a little different.

Make double the onion jam and store half in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve with cold meat and cheese or warm with bangers and mash or grilled chops.

Gruyere is a Swiss cheese with small holes and a lovely nutty flavour. Substitute with Jarlsberg if unavailable.

Pastry shrinks slightly during cooking. Refrigerating it before rolling will help prevent this, so don’t be tempted to omit this step.

Recipe
  1. To prepare the pastry, process flours, walnuts and butter to form fine crumbs. Slowly add the water and pulse until a soft dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  2. Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface. Line four 10cm loose-based tartlet tins. Using a fork prick the bases and line with baking paper and baking weights. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  3. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
  4. Place the tartlets onto a baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes or until just golden. Carefully remove the paper and weights. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Remove and place on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
  5. To prepare the balsamic glaze, bring vinegar to the boil in a small saucepan and reduce by half.
  6. To prepare the onion jam, heat oil in a medium frying. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft. Add remaining ingredients. Cook over a medium-low heat until reduced to a jam consistency.
  7. To prepare leek filling, heat oil in a medium frying pan. Add leek and thyme. Cook, stirring until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Cool slightly.
  8. Whisk together the cream and eggs. Divide cooked leek among pastry cases. Pour over egg mixture. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the custard is almost set. Top with onion jam and grated gruyere. Reduce oven to 160°C. Return tarts and cook for about a further 5 minutes or until mixture is set and cheese is melted. Cool slightly. Garnish with chervil.
  9. Combine all fig salad ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. To serve, place one tartlet on four plates with a little fig salad and dots of balsamic glaze. Serve immediately.