What a tart!

I actually wrote this post on my phone whilst sat in my brother's flat in London on a very wet and cold Sunday but I am only just getting round to finishing it and putting it up. It was my first time in London in over a year, which is a bit strange as normally I would have been down far more regularly. Me and my mum went to see Top Hat (I am a huge fan of musicals) and it was fabulous! I am a huge fan of the actor Tom Chambers who plays the leading role, which was the main reason for wanting to see it! I saw him in White Christmas on Christmas Eve two years ago and was lucky enough to meet him afterwards and he is a lovely guy! Spent about 15-20 minutes chatting to him! Anyway, this story has nothing to do with the post but thought I'd tell it anyway, it links to being in London! While in London we went to Wahaca, which was absolutely amazing! I have some random food allergies so I thought it might be a problem but it wasn't at all. Everyone should go because the food is gorgeous and so different and original to anything else out there - it is just a shame there are no restaurants outside of London!

Anyway, this post features a bacon and cheese tart I made a few weeks ago. I've been building up my savoury repertoire because I will be serving savoury things as well as sweet when I finally open the doors of Delicious Decadence! It went down well in the Appleby household, which normally means it isn't too shabby! The mother has even asked me to make it again!

The first thing to do is to make your pastry. Now I was one of those people that was scared of pastry up until the WI (once again!) came to the rescue. I now have a pastry recipe I use for everything and it couldn't be simpler to make and use. All you need is plain flour and margarine (not butter!) and a small amount of water, 40ml to be precise. You mix everything up together and there you have it. No fuss and no mess! What's more, this pastry can be kneaded and played around with as much as you like, it won't spoil! Plus there is no need to grease the tin you use because it will not stick! You can't get much better than that!

So, make up your pastry, roll it out on a lightly floured surface, and line a good sized loose bottom flan dish. Add baking parchment and baking beads to the pastry case and blind bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the filling.

The Ingredients for the filling: streaky bacon, cheddar cheese, onion, eggs, milk, butter (melted), and black pepper.

Start by frying your bacon until it is nice and crisp. As I have said before, I always use my George Forman for this sort of thing. Once it is crisp, break it up into medium size pieces and set aside.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and melted butter together and season with black pepper.

Fry the onion in a large frying pan until soft and slightly browned.

Put the bacon pieces and onion into the pastry case and then cover with the cheese.

Pour the eggy mixture over the top and place in the oven to bake for 40 minutes, until it is set and golden brown.

And there you have it. 

Enjoy hot or cold as a summer salad or a wintery treat with baked beans! Perfect!

Kate

xxx

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