Shallot & Cream Cheese Tarts

This is the tart that started it all. The one that went viral on social media and turned my life (as well as my cooking) upside down. It’s such a simple idea, layering shallots onto seasoned oil and then covering them with a cream cheese-slathered sheet of puff pastry. I mean, what’s not to love about sweet roasted shallots with a velvety, creamy topping and crisp golden puff pastry? Please note, you will need a large baking tray, roughly 38 x 27cm (15 x 10.5in), lined with baking parchment. Upside Down Cooking by Dominic Franks, published by DK RED. Photography by © Ellis Parrinder.

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Ingredients

ready rolled puff pastry 320 g
fresh thyme 10 g (leaves picked)
shallot 8 (halved)
egg 1 (beaten)
balsamic vinegar 2 tsp
herb cream cheese 50 g

Method

Preheat the oven and prep the ingredients

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and set aside.
Pick the thyme leaves. Peel and cut the shallots in half lengthwise. Beat the egg.

Prep the baking tray & assemble the tarts

Mark out 8 rectangles on the baking parchment, roughly 11 x 8.5cm (41⁄4 x 31⁄2in), leaving space between each one.
Place the baking parchment back on the tray, drawn-side down.
Drizzle a little oil and balsamic vinegar over each rectangle, then sprinkle with the thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
Top with the shallots, cut-side down – using 2 halves per tart.
Roll out the puff pastry and slice into 8 even-sized rectangles, roughly the same size as the ones drawn on the baking parchment.
Slather one side of each piece of pastry with a generous teaspoon of cream cheese, leaving a narrow border around the edge.
Lay the pastry, cream cheese-side down, over each pair of shallots. Using the back of a fork, press indentations around the edges of the pastry to seal. Score a cross diagonally over the top of each one with a sharp knife and then brush with the beaten egg.

Bake the tarts & Plate Up

Place in the oven and bake for 25–30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and puffy.
Remove from the oven and allow the tarts to sit on the tray for 5 minutes before flipping them over with a spatula.
Scatter over a little extra thyme before serving and enjoy!

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