Seomra Blog Bia at Totally Tipp: Inch House Black Pudding and Caramelised Onion Tart
The Totally Tipperary Food Festival, a weekend packed with food from the Tipperary Food Producers, cookery demos and workshops will be taking place in the grounds of Cloughjordan House at the end of June.
As part of the festival, Seomra Blog Bia, which is based on the very successful Salon du Blog Culinaire in France will feature demonstration from Irish Food Bloggers Association members alongside a number of Michelin-starred French chefs
The current Irish line up includes my fellow IFBA partner in crime Kristin of Dinner du Jour, David of Kitchen 72, Joanna of Smörgåsblog, Yvonne of Hey Pesto and, as far as I know, Nessa of Nessa’s Family Kitchen (lately of TV3!). I was also looking forward to doing a demonstration but, unfortunately for my plans, one half of Eight Degrees Brewing is getting married that day so I’m heading to a hooley (with lots of Howling Gale Ale) in Meath.
Before I realised that the dates clashed, I was already working on a recipe using Inch House black pudding, with a touch of Cork from my favourite Hegarty’s Cheddar. [Incidentally if you’re interested in Irish cheese, you’ll enjoy this detailed Farmhouse Cheese Booklet which is downloadable from the Bord Bia website.]
As well as Seomra Blog Bia, there are lots of other food-orientated events on over the Totally Tipperary Food Festival weekend so – unless you’ve an unmissable wedding in your diary! – it’s well worth heading to Cloughjordan on the 25 and 26 June. Stay updated via Twitter at @TotallyTipp.
If you’re a food blogger and interested in doing a demonstration on Saturday 25 June with some Tipperary food, just contact Kristin at irishfoodbloggers@gmail.com
Inch House Black Pudding and Caramelised Onion Tart
If you can’t get your hands on Inch House Black Pudding, try using black pudding from your butcher – there are a lot of really good black puddings on the market so take the time to search out your favourite.
For the pastry:
Plain flour – 200g
Sea salt – large pinch
Butter – 125g, chilled and cubed
A squeeze of lemon juice
Chilled water – 5-6 tablespoons
For the filling:
Onions – 5-6, approximately 500g
Olive oil
Black pudding – 250g, skin removed if necessary and sliced
Cream – 300mls
Eggs – 2
Mature cheddar cheese – 50g (Hegarty’s cheddar is great with this)
Mix flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cubes of butter and process, in pulses, until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Squeeze the lemon juice into the water, add to the bowl and pulse until it holds together in large clumps.
Empty on to a floured work surface and gather together into a flat disc. Allow to rest for at least an hour in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 190°C and place a baking sheet into the middle of the oven. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 25cm loose-bottomed baking tin. Line again with greaseproof paper and add a couple of handfuls of ceramic baking beans, dried chickpeas or uncooked rice to weigh the pastry down.
Cook for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove the greaseproof paper/baking beans and allow to cook for another five minutes.
Reduce the heat to 180°C.
Meanwhile, slice the onions and heat some olive oil in a deep frying pan. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook over a moderate heat for 15-20 minutes until soft, tender and turning golden.
Spread onions across the base of the pastry case and top with slices of black pudding. Mix eggs, cream and grated cheese together and season well. Pour over the black pudding and onions, carefully transfer to the baking sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 30-35 minutes until set and browned.
Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving with a crisp green salad and some ripe tomatoes, sliced and dressed with a little lemon juice.
Serves 4.
Am I right in thinking you brought this to the Kilkenny food camp? If it’s the same tart, it was delicious!
Thanks Kristin! I’ve been fiddling with the proportions for a while and went for the caramelised onions in this rather than slow-cooked leeks. It’s a great basic recipe for any combination of tart ingredients.
aw, pity you can’t make it Caroline. Tart looks delicious. I’ve never heard of lemon juice being used to bind pastry so will have to give that a go.
Just a squeeze of lemon juice in the water – I think it was something that my Nana used to do and I remember it from Home Ec as well. I think it might be something to do with acid helping the whole thing to bind – but I’m very much open to correction on that!