Caramalised Onion Tart

Rince the onions in their skin, then peel and slice. Keep the large pieces of skin (but discard the small ones as they will be hard to spot afterwards).

Melt the butter in a deep pan. Add the onions and sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar. Stir then add the onion skin.

Cover and cook on a low heat for at least one hour (but preferably two!). Stir from time to time. The onions will take on a gorgeous brown colour. In the meantime, make the pastry:

For the pastry: mix the salt into the flour. Cut the butter in cubes and rub into the flour until like fine breadcrumbs. Add a little water (about 2 tbsp) and mix with a knife until the the pastry starts to bind. Kneed a little and roll into a ball. Cover in cling film and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry to fit the bottom and sides of a 28 cm buttered tart tin. Cover the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans/dried pulses. Bake in the over at 200C for ten minutes. While the pastry is baking, cut up the bacon and fry in a frying pan until crispy.

Remove the baking beans, brush all over with egg (do not discard the remaining egg!) and put back in the oven for five more minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve for later.

When the onions have finished cooking and taken on a dark brown colour, remove all the skin being careful not to leave any. Transfer the onions to the frying pan with the bacon and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate all the bacon juices.

Add the remaining egg to the onion/bacon mixture then sir in the sour cream.

Transfer the onion and bacon mixture to the pastry. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 180C until the top is golden brown.