So to start with, crusty fresh bread with some of the pesto and black olive tapenade that I brought from holidays in France back in September.
For main course, I used my Gubeen Chirizo in a chorizo, carmelized red onion and goat's cheese quiche.
Shopping List:
4 oz flour
Pinch of salt
2oz butter
1 1/2 Red Onions, cut into half moons,
2 teaspoons of Brown Sugar
One tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
One desert spoon of olive oil
Gubbeen Chorizo Sausage
5-6 2cm slices of goats cheese
4 eggs
A sprinkle of finely chopped parsley,
A small handful of fresh basil leaves to garnish,
Salt and Pepper to season
For the pastry, I just used a very simple traditional short crust pastry recipe. Before you start, put a glass or a small jug of water into the fridge to chill. Sieve your four and salt into a bowl and while roughly mixing, chop your margarine into small pieces and add to the bowl. Without melting the margarine, use the tips of your fingers to crumble the margarine and flour into 'breadcrumbs'. To keep your pastry light, make sure your keep your hands and all other implements as cold as possible so that the margarine doesn't melt. Hold you hands high wile doing this to incorporate as much air as possible into the mix. When your flour and butter finally resemble breadcrumbs, very gradually add the cold water, while continuously mixing. Stop adding water when the breadcrumbs have been incorporated into a soft dough ball. When your pastry is ready, tip onto a sheet of cling film, wrap tightly and put it in the fridge.
For the filling, in a large frying pan, I heated the oil over a medium heat. I added the red onions, stirred them until coated in the oil and fried them gently for about 15 minutes, until they were soft and slightly translucent. I added the balsamic vinegar and sugar and stirred until evenly coated. I left it to simmer for about a further 15 minutes, until the onions were sweet and sticky. I then placed these in a bowl to one side and left to cool.
I sliced the Chorizo and sautéed it gently in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes to soften, hence why it appears a little black in the pictures. I wouldn't repeat this step if I was making this again. The flavour would probably be a little more distinctive if just added as is.
My 4 eggs, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and parsley were added to a blender/smoothie maker and turned it on to full power for approx 3 mins.
With the tart tin greased and ready to go and my oven preheating at 180oC, I flattened my pastry, lined my tin with it and then add an even as possible layer of caremelized onion. Then I evenly spread the chorizo and poured the beaten eggs. Don't worry if your ingredients aren't fully covered. Your eggs should have enough air incorporated for the eggs to rise during baking. Place in the oven for approx 10 mins.
After about 10 mins, I gently arranged the goats cheese and basil leaves and placed the quiche back in the oven for a further 10 mins. This stops the goats cheese from sinking to the bottom, so they should be nice and golden on top of the tart.
I keeping with the spanish/chorizo theme, I oven baked some patients wedges with a strong sprinkle of smoked paprika. We ate some rocket and cherry tomatoes with the beautifully fragrant Rasberry Vinegar drizzled over.
Stay tuned for desert- warm apple and blackberry with oatmeal crumble!!!
