The perfect picnic (or starter) sustenance, Executive Chef Nathan Eades at The Montagu Arms shares his secret for an Old Winchester Cheese & Onion Tartlet, topped off with with Roscoff onion, pickled walnuts, yeast flakes
Serves 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the tartlet case:
• 2 sheets of brick pastry (you can use filo if you can’t get brick)
• 50g butter
• Tsp smoked paprika
For the onion compote:
• 1 kilo of white onions
• 100ml cold pressed rapeseed oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• Sprig of thyme
For the walnut pesto:
• 40g roasted walnut halves
• 20g old Winchester cheese
• Half a clove of garlic
• 40ml of walnut oil (any good quality oil will work)
For the Béchamel sauce:
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g of plain flour
• 200ml of whole milk
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 100g old Winchester cheese
• Salt and pepper to season
For the pickled walnut puree:
• 3 jars of Opius pickled walnuts
For the toasted Yeast flakes:
• 30g dried yeast flakes (available at health stores)
• 10g of unsalted butter
For the garnish:
• Chopped chives and chive flowers
Method
For the tartlet case:
1 Heat the butter over a medium heat until it turns golden brown. Let it cool. Paint the 2 sheets of brick pastry with the butter and sprinkle over the paprika.
2 Sandwich the 2 sheets together and allow to set for an hour. Cut to desired shape and mould into a small tartlet tin.
3 Bake in an oven at 180 for 8 minutes
For the onion compote:
1 Finely slice the onions.
2 Over a medium heat sweat the onion for 5 mins and then add the garlic and thyme. Cook until golden brown. Set aside.
For the walnut pesto:
1 Put the walnuts and garlic into a mortar and pestle and grind into a paste.
2 Finely grate the cheese. Add all ingredients together.
For the Béchamel sauce:
1 Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the flour and cook out for 10 mins. Be careful not to burn it. 2 Gradually add the milk in small stages – 40-50ml at a time. Allow to cook over a low heat for 10 mins until the mix doesn’t taste of flour anymore.
3 Add the mustard and cheese and blend with a stick blender. Set aside.
For the pickled walnut puree:
1 Strain the juice and blend.
For the toasted Yeast flakes:
1 Melt the butter over a medium heat.
2 Add the yeast flakes and toast until golden brown. Set aside.
To assemble:
1 Mix 20g of onion compote with 10g of walnut pesto. Once mixed, place at the bottom of the tartlet case.
2 Spoon on the béchamel sauce. Place dots of the walnut puree randomly over the top.
3 Sprinkle the yeast flakes and chives on top. Decoratively place the flowers on top of the walnut puree.
Recipe and image courtesy of Nathan Eades, Executive Chef at The Montagu Arms
