Marvellous mushrooms

With Ina Paarman’s brand-new Mushroom Pesto you can put together a showstopper of a tart that will warm hearts at any table this winter – especially those of vegetarians. This recipe is from Ina’s new book, My Favourite Recipes.

Mushroom and onion tart

It is essential to blind-bake the pastry before you add the filling.

4–6

Serves Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 1 hour

YOU NEED

FOR THE CARAMELISED ONIONS

• 2 onions, peeled and sliced into half-rings

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white vinegar

• ½ cup (125 ml) water

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar

• ¼ cup (60 ml) soft brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Seasoned Sea Salt

FOR THE PASTRY

• 500 g sour cream pastry* (or use shopbought all-butter puff pastry)

• 1 egg yolk

• a pinch of salt

• a pinch of sugar

FOR THE FILLING

• 1 x 125 g Ina Paarman’s Mushroom Pesto

• your prepared caramelised onions

• 1 x 200 ml Ina Paarman’s Ready to Serve Cheese Sauce

• 8 brown mushrooms of various sizes

• Ina Paarman’s Garlic Pepper Seasoning

• olive oil

• sprigs of thyme, to garnish

THIS IS HOW

Make the caramelised onions Place the sliced onions in a saucepan. Add the white vinegar and water. Boil uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring now and again. Strain and discard the vinegar water. To the same saucepan, with the onions, add the balsamic vinegar, sugar and Seasoned Sea Salt. Simmer uncovered for ± 20 minutes until thick and jammy.

Prepare the pastry Adjust the oven rack to the centre position and preheat the oven to 200 ºC. Roll out the Sour Cream Pastry on baking paper and slice into a 44 cm x 22 cm rectangle. (If using bought pastry, join 2 sheets to form a rectangle of about the same size.)

Using a pizza wheel or small sharp knife, cut off a 1 cm pastry strip all round to build up the edges. Make an egg wash by beating together the egg, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Glue the edge strips down with egg wash. Prick the centre all over with a fork. Cover the centre with baking paper and weigh it down using ceramic baking beans or dried beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and beans.

Make the tart Spread the Mushroom Pesto over the centre of the prebaked pastry. Top with the prepared caramelised onions. Squeeze the Cheese Sauce over the onion and spread evenly, taking care to avoid the edges.

Position the mushrooms stem side up on the filling. Season the mushrooms with Garlic Pepper Seasoning and drizzle olive oil over. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash to give it a glossy finish. Bake for ± 20 minutes. Garnish with sprigs of thyme.

* Download the recipe for Ina’s sour cream pastry on paarman.co.za (enter “Sour Cream Pastry” in the search bar).