Smoked bacon and onion tart recipe

A lovely savoury tart in crisp homemade pastry, with a tasty bacon and egg filling.

This smoked bacon and onion tart is like a quiche, with a lovely creamy egg filling dotted with bacon. You can serve it hot and it makes a delicious lunch or light supper with a green salad on the side. Alternatively, left to cool, it's lovely for an al fresco meal in the back garden, or instead of sandwiches in a picnic. If you prefer, you can use ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, which makes preparing it significantly quicker.

This recipe is part of our cheap family meals collection – under £1 a head

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 100g (4oz) butter, chilled and diced
• 225g (8oz) plain flour
• Pinch mustard powder
• 15ml (1tbsp) finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg, beaten

For the filling:

• 225g (8oz) smoked bacon bits
• 15ml (1tbsp) oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 large eggs
• 60ml (4tbsp) half-fat crème fraîche
• 50g (2oz) Cheddar cheese, finely grated

Method

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the mustard powder and Parmesan cheese. Add the egg and 15-30ml (1-2tbsp) cold water; mix to a dough. Knead lightly until smooth, then wrap and chill for 30 mins.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 19x29cm (7½ x 11½ in) loose-based flan tin. Prick all over with a fork; chill for 30 mins. Line with foil and baking beans and bake for 10 mins. Remove the beans and foil and return to the oven for 2-3 mins until light golden. Allow to cool.
3. To make the filling, dry-fry the bacon bits in a non-stick frying for 5-6 mins. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Add the oil to the pan and gently fry the onions for 10-15 mins until soft and golden. Allow to cool.
4. Beat the eggs and crème fraîche together and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the bacon and onions in the pastry case, pour over the egg mixture and scatter over the Cheddar cheese.
5. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and set. Serve the tart warm or cold.

Top tip for making smoked bacon and onion tart

Use any kind of melting cheese you have for the topping instead of the cheddar. Mozzarella, gorgonzola or fontina all work really well.