Julie Goodwin’s French onion tarts

Place the flour, salt and butter into a food processor; process until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs and there are no butter lumps. With the motor running, add the eggs and process until the dough just comes together in a ball.

Turn the dough onto a cold surface. If you have a large stone or glass cutting board, these are ideal. Make sure your hands are cool by running under cold water if necessary; gently knead the dough a few times to bring it together. Cut dough in half. Roll each piece of dough between two sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Slide dough, still in paper, onto oven trays. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently until soft, translucent and collapsed. This should take about
10 minutes, depending on the size of the pan. Make sure the onion doesn’t brown at all. Stir in the vinegar and sugar – the onion will turn a beautiful magenta colour. Add the thyme. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until the liquid reduces and the onion has the consistency of a jam or chutney. Season to taste. Cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Lightly spray 24 x 7cm tartlet tins with oil.

Using a 9cm cutter, cut out 24 rounds and line prepared tart tins with the pastry. Press into tins and prick well with a fork; trim edges. Place on oven trays and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Line with baking paper and cover bases with baking weights. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until pastry is firm. Remove paper and weights; bake for a further 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Just before serving, spoon the Filling into the tart shells. Top with goat’s cheese and thyme sprigs.