Temptation tart

Free from:

Dairy

Serves 6-8. Onion marmalade needs to be made a day ahead to improve flavour, but can be made several days ahead, and kept chilled. Preparation time 35 minutes. Assembling and cooking time 50 minutes.

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil
750g onions, peeled and quite thinly sliced
1 jar (470g, 270g drained) morello cherries in syrup- preferably stoned
100ml vegetarian medium or dry red wine
½ tsp/2.5ml ground cinnamon
2 large bay leaves
2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
350g Quorn pieces (chicken style)
250g frozen vegetarian puff pastry
1 free range egg, beaten

To Garnish:

Edible gold dust (optional) or sprigs of thyme

Method

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and stir thoroughly to coat with oil. Saute, stirring now and again, until brown but not burned.
Drain cherries, reserving juice. Put cherries aside. Measure 100ml juice and add to browned onions, together with the wine, cinnamon and bay leaves. Simmer very gently, without stirring, for about 1 ½ hours until soft, and the liquid has evaporated. You can lift the edges of the onion mass in the pan to check they’re not burning towards the end of the cooking time, but avoid stirring as this will make the onions go mushy and they need to retain their shape. Put into a container, cover with kitchen paper first (to make sure no condensation liquid gathers) and then a lid, and allow to cool overnight.
Next day, preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and oil a large, non-stick baking sheet. Heat remaining 2tbs/30ml oil in a large frying pan and fry the Quorn, stirring all the time, until lightly coloured. Allow to cool. (this can be done the day before also).
Roll out the pastry to measure 25cm x 30cm and place on the large, oiled, non-stick baking sheet. Pinch together each corner to make a point – the pastry should look like a tray with pointed raised corners and flat sides. Remove the bay leaves from the cold onion marmalade and discard.
Take one third of the onion mixture and spread evenly over the pastry tray, leaving a 2.5cm border all the way round. Sprinkle the cooled fried Quorn evenly all over, then carefully cover with the remaining onion marmalade. You will have to do this a spoonful at a time to make sure that the Quorn is completely covered.
Arrange the drained cherries in neat rows on top of the onion marmalade. Brush the whole of the tart (pastry and cherries) with beaten egg and bake in the hot oven for 20 – 25 minutes until the pastry is well puffed up.
Garnish with edible gold dust (optional) or sprigs of thyme and serve hot, warm or cold. Vegan version: 1) In place of Quorn: use 325g natural tofu, pressed well between kitchen paper to drain. Slice horizontally into 3 slices and fry in olive oil until golden.
Cool, then chop into pieces and use in place of the Quorn. 2) In place of the egg: use 1tbs soya flour mixed with 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp caster sugar and about 2 tbsp cold water to make a thin paste.