Cheese & onion quiche

Instructions

1. 1

   For the pastry, rub the flour, salt and 125g butter together until it has a sandy texture, either with your fingertips or pulsed in a food processor. Beat the egg yolk with 2 tbsp water. Make a well in the centre of the pastry, add the beaten egg mixture, then stir into the dry ingredients, first with a metal spoon, then pull together with your hands into a ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes. On a floured surface, roll the cold pastry into a 3mm thick circle and use to line a 24cm loose-bottomed tart tin (3-4cm deep), leaving 1-2cm of pastry overhanging. Prick the base all over with a fork. Chill again for at least 30 minutes

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 200˚C, gas mark 6. Line the tart case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans; blind-bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper; bake for another 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 160˚C, gas mark 3, and trim the pastry edges with a serrated knife.

3. 3

   While the pastry is cooking, melt the 15g butter in a saucepan, add the finely chopped salad onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the milk and cream and bring to a rapid simmer. Remove from the heat, then quickly whisk in the eggs before stirring in the Cheddar. Return to a very low heat for 5 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Pour into the trimmed pastry shell, arrange the whole salad onions on top, then bake for 40 minutes or until the top is burnished and the centre is set with just a slight wobble. Leave to cool and firm up for 20 minutes before serving.