My Favorite Beetroot Tart Recipe

Before learning about my favorite beetroot tart recipe, let's learn a bit about the humble beetroot.

As most readers would know, as well as being a very tasty and versatile vegetable, the beetroot is extremely good for you. Beetroot contains betaine which is an important nutrient known as a mehyl donor and which helps make chemical processes in the body (such as proper liver function and cellular reproduction) work effectively. Betaine also helps the body make carnitine which is a nutrient that helps the body turn fat into energy.

Fruit and vegetables that are vibrant in color have nutrients which help to protect our bodies from damaging free radicals.The scarlet color of beetroot is thought to be a combination of the naturally occurring yellow (betacyanin) and purple (betaxanthin) pigments. These vibrant pigments are potent phytochemicals and antioxidants that work to protect damage to body cells from free radicals.

My favorite beetroot tart recipe is beetroot and caramelized onion tart. It has a shortcrust pastry case and, as the name suggests, its main ingredients are beetroot and caramelized onion.

Here is the ingredient list for Beetroot and Caremelized Onion Tart:
* shortcrust pastry case (either store bought or lovingly made by you);
* cooked beetroots - the quantity depends on how big a tart you would like to make but I use 3 large beetroots for a 8 inch pie dish or flan dish;
* caremelized onions (either caremized onion jam or caremelized onion lovingly made by you);
* a strong cheese (such as Roquefort, Bleu d'Auvergne, Stilton and Gorgonzola or any other cheese which has a stong taste);
* 1 whole egg;
* pouring creme or full creme milk;
* a little all purpose/plain flour;
* salt;
* pepper; and
* horseradish.

The idea of the recipe is that the filling will be the consistency of a quiche filling so you will need to play around with the mixture by adding extra creme or milk or eggs or even adding some flour.

The first thing I do when I make this tart is to prepare the beetroot. But if you are making your own short crust pastry or caramelized onions to use in this recipe, either of these other steps could be done first.

The beetroots need to be washed thoroughly and all blemishes removed. Ensure that you remove all the stalks and leaves (as the leaves are toxic if eaten). The beetroots should then be boiled in salted water or roasted until a skewer easily pierces each beetroot. If roasting the beetroots, I spray or pour a small amount of olive oil over them and season with a little salt.

I like to cook my beetroots whole but you could cut the beetroots into halves or even smaller pieces if you prefer. The cooking time obviously depends on the size of the beetroots.

Once cool enough to handle (or even leave them until they are completely cooled), peel the beetroots and cut them into strips, slices or cubes. I usually opt for thin strips but use any shape you prefer. Then set the beetroot aside until ready to use.

You can either use store bought pastry or home made pastry for this recipe. I prefer shortcrust pastry but I am sure any other pastry used for a savory pie would be just as good. If I am making all the components on the same day, I would start making the pastry while the beetroots are cooking.

Here are the ingredients for my shortcrust pastry recipe:
* 1 2/3 cups (250g) all purpose/ plain flour;
* 125g unsalted butter, chilled, finely chopped;
* a pinch of salt; and
* chilled water.

Here is how I make my shortcrust pastry:
* Process flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
* With the food processor motor running, add some chilled water to the flour mixture. Start with a third of a cup of water. Process until mixture begins to form large clumps, stopping machine before mixture forms a ball. Keep adding water as necessary but make sure the mixture does not become too liquid. If the mixture becomes too liquid, add some more flour.
* Turn the pastry out on to a work surface and knead gently to bring together. Form into a disc for a round tart or into a log shape for a rectangular tart. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer the pastry is left before using it, the better the cooked pastry will be so if you have time, you might want to make the pastry the day before you plan on making the tart.

If you have any pastry left after you have made your tart, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze it to use at a later time.

You can use either store bought caramelized onion jam or you can make your own caramelized onions. When I make this tart, I will usually make my own caramelized onions. As with the shortcrust pastry, if I am making all the components on the same day, I would start making the caramelized onions while the beetroots are cooking.

Here are the ingredients for my caramelized onions:
* brown onions (as many as you want to use);
* olive oil (or vegetable oil or butter if you prefer);
* salt;
* balsamic vinegar (malt vinegar would work as well);
* sugar.

I have not specified the number of onions required as I usually peel as many onions as I feel like peeling as I store any left over caramelized onions in the fridge to serve with steak, burgers or sausages.

Here is how I make caramelized onions:
* Peel the onions and cut them into rings or strips. I do not use diced onions as the cooking time for diced onions is too short to give a nice caramelized result.
* Heat a heavy-based saucepan and then add the olive oil and allow the oil to reach sizzling point. Test this by adding a few small pieces of onion to the oil. If you do not like to fry in olive oil, use any vegetable oil which you usually use to sauté vegetables or use butter.
Once the oil has hit sizzling point, add all of the onions being careful not to splatter the hot oil on yourself. Cook the onions at a high heat for the first few minutes and then lower to a moderate heat.
* Once the onion has become translucent, add some salt and continue frying. The salt assists in removing moisture from the onions and therefore, the caramelizing process.
* Once the onions have turned brown, they are at the point where the sugar and vinegar can be added. I like my onions to be very dark so I tend to cook them until them longer.
* Add some sugar to the onions and stir the sugar until dissolved. I start by add 3 tablespoons of sugar for each pound/450gms of onions. I then taste the onions and add more sugar until they are as sweet as I want.
* Once the sugar has dissolved, add some vinegar. I start by adding half a cup of vinegar for each pound/450gms of onions. I then keep adding until I have about one third vinegar to onions. The aim of the process is to end up with the onions in a thick syrup which has the consistency of honey. It may be necessary to add some extra sugar.

When you are happy with the onions, put them aside to cool.

As with many tart recipes, the tart case will need to be partially cooked before the filling is added.

To make the tart case, first roll out the pastry to the required size to the thickness you desire. I like my tart and pie cases to be reasonably thick but I know others prefer thin cases. The thing to note in deciding how thick to make the tart case is that the filling will be a heavy filling so the tart case will need to be sturdy enough to carry the filling.

If you have rested your shortcrust pastry, it should be quite easy to roll out. I roll pastry out on either a floured board or between two pieces of baking paper.

Once your pastry is the size you need to cover your tart or pie dish, place the pastry in the dish (making sure to have buttered the dish first). Trim the edges but not too much as the pastry will shrink as it dries and cooks in the oven. Place baking beads or other weights in the bottom of the dish and cook. If you do not have baking beads, place some baking paper in the bottom of the dish and then cover the surface with rice or some other material which will stop the bottom of the tart from bubbling.

For a 10 inch/25 centimeter dish, cook the tart crust for 20 to 25 minutes at 320 degrees Fahrenheit/160 degrees Celsius in a natural gas fan forced oven and then cook for a further 5 minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. The aim is to end up with a dish that is dried through and partly cooked through so you will need to adjust timings for your dish size and your oven.

Let the tart case cool.

The first step in making the filling is is to combine the egg, two tablespoons of flour, creme (or milk), salt and pepper together so that it has the consistency of a thick pancake mixture. You may need to add additional flour or creme depending on the density of the mixture.

You can then either:
* combine the beetroots, caramelized onions and blue cheese in the egg mixture and pour the mixture into the tart case; or
* place the beetroot caramelized onions and blue cheese in the tart case and pour the egg-creme mixture over the ingredients in the tart case.

You can decide how solid you would like the filling to be. If you like a dense tart, then add more beetroots and caramelized onions. If you would like a light tart, add less beetroots and caramelized onions.

You can crumble the cheese into whatever size you like.

Then pour the filling into the tart case. I try to be neat when I pour in the filling but sometimes I fail (as seen in this photo).

I hope you try this recipe!