Roasted beetroot and onion tart

A cheat’s beet tart. Use tinned beets but you can use par-boiled baby beets if you like. Adding a tangy dressing with a hint of honey and orange and a few strips of crispy Parma make this dish a restaurant look alike.

These look complicated but they are not, I have made these for 40 people at once and they went down a treat.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

6 Savoury pastry shells – I used ready rolled pastry and simply line little individual tart tins and baked till golden but you could buy quality store brought ones if you wish. These can be made in advance and stored in an air-tight container.

40g butter

2 large tins (820g) tinned baby beets, drained –reserve ½ cup of liquid

2 red onions, sliced thinly

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Sea salt & cracked pepper

6 slices Parma ham- baked for 5-8 minutes until crispy

1 cup crème fraiche

1 tablespoon liquid honey

1 teaspoon orange zest + 2 tablespoons juice

Rocket leaves to serve

Method

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan and cook the onions over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the beets, (cut the larger ones into quarters or halves) and balsamic, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, seasoning and reserved beetroot juice. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until syrupy and glossy. Cool, cover and chill until required.

For the dressing simply whisk crème fraiche, honey, orange zest and juice until smooth and pourable.

When ready to serve the tarts pre-heat the oven to 180 degs and line a tray with baking paper. Arrange the tartlet shells on the tray and divide the beetroot and onion mixture between the tarts. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden and beets hot. Serve on warmed plates garnished with Parma ham and rocket leaves, lastly spoon over dressing.
Recipe: Jo Wilcox
Photo: Nick Tresidder