Bursting with flavour, Denis Cotter shows exactly how to make this easy and impressive tasty dish!
Ingredients
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g cold butter
- 50 ml cold water
- 200 g red onions
- 300 g beetroot (cooked, peeled and grated)
- 4 tblsp brown sugar
- 4 tblsp balsamic vinegar
- 140 g watercress
- 1 clove garlic
- 40 g walnuts
- 200 ml olive oil
- 240 g bluebell falls fresh goats cheese (sliced in rounds)
Method
- Make pastry with the flour, butter and water, chill for an hour, roll it out and cut circles to fit six small tartlet cases. Blind bake for ten minutes.
- Slice the red onions in half, then into thin slices. Cook the onion and beetroot in a little olive oil, stirring often, until the onions are fully cooked and beginning to caramelise.
- Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar, and continue to cook for a further 20 minutes or so until the onions are very soft and the liquid is syrupy. Leave to cool.
- Put 100g of the watercress, the garlic and walnuts in a food processor and chop to a coarse puree. Add the olive oil and blend briefly to get a thick sauce.
- Add more oil if the pesto seems too thick. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Fill the pastry cases with beetroot relish and put a slice of cheese on top of each.
- Bake the tartlets in a medium oven until heated through and the cheese has coloured a little and started to melt. Serve with some pesto and a little fresh watercress.
