Food memories Singapore style

Without a doubt one of the loveliest - and for me most unexpected- thing about blogging has been the interactions and relationships built with my readers.


A couple of weeks ago I posted my picture on Instagram of Congee (Chinese Rice Porridge- my recipe is here).  

One of my readers- Germaine- saw it there & talked about how her family often pop Ikan Bilis on top of Congee.  Ikan Bilis is one of my all time fave goodies! My 12yo LOVES it sooooo much! I am not sure why I have never cooked it myself so when Germaine told me about her family recipe I was super excited to ask her to share it with all of you too! I feel absolutely thrilled she has shared one of her family recipes with us. aren't we lucky!!!! I can't wait to make this!

Germaine Tan is a mumma of two super doop cutie patootie girls. They live in Melbourne & she is the owner of the very cute online store ChibiRun. 

Today I am thrilled to share with you a post written by her.  Germaine shares a heartfelt piece about her food memories as a child growing up in Singapore and how it has influenced her cooking with & for her family now.

Here is Germaine's gorgeous story. I hope you love it as much as I do. ~ 

"I believe that food always brings people together. In more ways than anyone can imagine. 

Ruth and I haven’t met in person (but we will someday!)

But that hasn’t stopped the both of us from feeling that we know each other, just simply over happy, excited little chats about her food. And mind. And FAMILY.
When Ruth shares about her little family, it is just magical. 

I was and still feel so humbled that she’s asked me about mine.

So now, it’s my turn to share.

About my family. About our foods.

Food in my family is a BIG thing.

I was born and bred in Asia. Singapore to be exact.

Melbourne has become my home for the last 10 years and I don’t think I’m leaving anytime soon.. I have so so much love for Melbourne.

Every morning in Singapore, Mum went to the local markets because that’s just what you did.

The local markets in Singapore were so so wet and slippery. Unlike the markets here.
As a child, I had to be extremely careful not to slip, especially near the fishmonger’s stall!
It was amazing.

You came to know ALL the market sellers and they always gave Mum the good cuts or the freshest fishes.
She bought the family’s food for that particular day to cook and because marketing was done every morning, every dinner was so fresh.

Sitting in our kitchen was this huge mortar and pestle.
And I remember it so vividly. Because it was one of the few cool things in the kitchen I was allowed to touch.
That and beansprout plucking. The two jobs I was quite proud of.

I could help pound all the spices, nuts, garlics into pastes with my little hands.
And I loved that rhythm the pestle made.

Dad was fortunate to be home for dinners but after dinner, he went off back to work and didn’t come home until at least 9pm at night.

So dinner was special to me because I got to sit next to him.

I was such a slowwwww eater!
We had a huge round table with a lazy susan in the middle.
Mum always cooked rice with dishes, which is a typical Asian Style meal. She always whipped out at least 4 dishes for a family of 5. Every. Single. Day.
Which till this day, I still don’t know how she managed to do so.
A fish. A soup. A meat. A veggie.

But after much thought, I think getting dinner out on the table was very important to Mum.
She stayed at home to look after us and we always had so much food to eat.

I think having family traditions are very important.
They don’t have to be crazy traditions that involve big parties once a year.

I think little traditions are the best.

One of Mum’s little traditions was to bake with me.

Mum loved to bake and she taught me everything she knew.
She allowed me to help her do all sorts of cakes and cookies, I can’t really remember what kind we did. But I always remembered that the kitchen table was full of flour, all dusty and powdery. 

Our cordless phone was wrapped in a clear plastic cellophane bag with a rubberband tied around it when we baked.

I don’t think it helped keep it clean much!!!!

But Mum thought it did.

She loved chatting with her friends on the phone and doing something else at the same time.  

Our little tradition was making chinese new year cookies together to put into bottles to give to everyone. 
I still know of some of Mum’s friends who get together to do that every year.

Dad also had his way of showing his love despite his busy schedule and he made his own little traditions with me.

One of his little traditions was actually brought back to mind when Ruth posted a picture of her delicious Chinese porridge.

She is COMPLETELY right when she said porridge was a comfort food.

Because we’re Teochew, Dad loved his porridge.

And he used to bring me out alone to his favourite Teochew Porridge stall in Singapore where they’d sell just bowls of plain porridge for 70 cents each and you could choose from over 40 different dishes all laid out at the front of the stall to go with your porridge!! They had braised eggplant, lobster with plum sauce, omelettes, sambal kangkong and so so so much more.

I LOVED it.

Dad enjoyed it so much, he always had at least 5 bowls of porridge!

Saturday morning breakfasts in Singapore weren’t eggs at a cafe.
Dad brought us to the hawker centre to eat roti chanai, chinese carrot cake and have refreshing sugar cane or soya bean drinks and there were hundreds of families there doing the exact same thing. 

Now that I’m wearing my big Mum shoes, I’ve REALLY grown to enjoy cooking.
Cooking and watching those people called family eat my food.

Making our own little food traditions.
After having one of those crazy weeks where everything happens in a rush, we usually sit down
on Sundays and have a bit of Chinese porridge.
Nice, simple, comfort food.
And to add a little bit more excitement in our life, we like to sprinkle lots of ikan bilis on top of the porridge."

GERMAINES MAMA'S IKAN BILIS RECIPE:

Ikan means ‘fish’ and bilis means ‘small’ in Malay. 

The most common dish you can find ikan bilis in is Nasi Lemak, malay coconut rice which is simply delicious too.
It is like an Asian style tapas too!
The beauty of ikan bilis is that it is crunchy, salty, sweet, nutty and spicy all in an instant.
SO addictive.
My children love it - they think it is a very yummy snack!

We like to fry it up in huge batches in our household and give a few bottles here and there to family and friends.
It is a very forgiving recipe and it doesn’t mind if you’re a nut lover or if you’re not too fond of nuts. 

You will find the dried anchovies and the spanish red peanuts in dried goods section of the Asian grocer. 

The dried anchovies are often used as soup stock as well for lots of Asian clear soups! Just boil them in a pot of water and throw all your yummy veggies, tofu in and you have a nice, nourishing soup. 

You can also find the sambal at the asian grocer.

●      300gm dried anchovies

●      200gm spanish red peanuts (optional, or you can add more or less according to what you fancy)

●      4 Tbsp evoo (extra virgin olive oil)

●      1 onion, diced

●      6 Tbsp sugar

●      1 Tbsp tumeric

●      4 Tbsp sambal (optional)

METHOD:

Wash the dried anchovies in a bowl under the tap a few times until the water runs clear.
Air dry them on a tray or switch on your oven to 150 deg C and dry them in there for 15 minutes. I like to dry mine in the oven as it seems to give it a nice additional crunch.

Have a feel of a few little fishes and they are ready to be cooked once they feel dry and crisp.

Heat up your evoo in a wok or a frying pan.

Fry your peanuts for 15 minutes until you get a nice, smoky, nutty fragrance wafting out strongly.
Pick out a peanut or two to taste and see if they’re crunchy and cooked.

Once cooked, remove from heat and set it aside in a bowl.

Increase to high heat and once oil is smoking, add your dried anchovies into the pan.

Fry the dried anchovies on med-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring and tossing regularly to make sure all the anchovies are getting their fair share of the heat.  

Watch and the anchovies will start turning a really delicious, golden brown and start curling and crisping up. Exciting!

Taste one or two or ten...
Once brown and crispy, remove from heat and set aside in another bowl.

Now, add in your onion and fry until fragrant.

Toss in your bowls of anchovies and nuts.
Add your sugar, tumeric and start mixing them all up evenly.

Last but not least, add in the sambal, mix it around and you’re done. 
If you’re cooking for the kids and I usually do a batch for my children, I don’t add any sambal or if I feel like giving them a hidden surprise, I just add a smidget of sambal and taste. And either way works out great too. It is still very delicious! 

Now for those of us who love chilli, I usually add the sambal in tablespoons and taste in between to see how spicy it becomes and stop when I feel that it tastes like something I would really enjoy.

I have to warn you though, Sambal is addictive!!!!
I have to stop myself from adding more and more!!! :)

Once cooled, put into old pasta jars to keep.

Ikan bilis can be used as a lovely addition to porridge, nasi lemak or even fried rice.
Writing this blog post has made me re-live many fond memories of my childhood.

Thank you so much for that, Ruth!!

Last but not least, one of my favourite composers EVER... Joe Hisaishi, seems perfect to accompany my memories of being a child which seems far away on certain days...

I love listening to him at any time of the day. :)

Sending ALL my love to each and every one of you this week 

xx Germaine

Exciting times

Today the postman brought me something I have been excitedly waiting for.

My copy of the latest Anorak magazine- the Happy Mag for Kids.

Do you know this fab mag?

It is super ace!

Filled with ace stories, activities & gorgeous illustrations from lots of very talented & creative people.

But this issue has ME inside too!!!

OMG!

My very first regular 'Eat Stuff' recipe- Yummy Soba noodles- recipe words by me & illustrations by Nanae Kawahara.   

I LOVE it!

Do YOU?

I will now be a regular contributor to this rad mag dreamed up and made reality by the very clever Cathy Olmedillas.

Do subscribe to this gorgeous mag- it will be a tussle between the grown ups and the kids who gets the first look!

My kids LOVE it!!!!

And....while you are waiting for your mag to arrive you can go here and download Anorak's great apps from the app store & play to your hearts content.

Click here to take you to the app store to download this great activities app. Image via Anorakmagazine.com

Or..........

Or you can click here to get the super dooper ace Anorak TV app. Image via Anorakmagazine.com

Yippee to the HAPPY mag for kids!
I am soooo happy to be a part of it.

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S POTATO & CHILLI ROSTI:
We had run out of bread by Friday night (GASP!!!!) & I LOVE to eat a super doop yummo brekky on the weekend days, so Potato Rosti it was as something to pop my  egg on!
These are great next to a steak too! What's not to love about crunchy spuds?!
I poached an egg and topped it with a mix of very finely chopped Parsley and some of my homemade Horseradish.
It was SOOOOO good! 
If you don't like chilli, just omit it.
I used regular spuds but Sweet potato rosti are DELICIOUS too- just exchange! YUM.
This will make about 4 large Rosti
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 6 medium potatoes, scrubbed well
• 1 onion, peeled.
• 1 red chilli chopped finely
• 1 egg
• salt & pepper
• 2 tblspns Rice bran oil for frying (you can add a little butter to the oil if you lik, it will add a lovely flavour!)

METHOD:

You want to make these just before you serve them so the outside stays nice & crispy.

Grate the spuds (I leave the skin on- that is where all the goodness is, this is why it is important to scrub them well) and pop into a colander. Squeeze out any excess moisture.

Now grate the onion and add it and the potato to a large bowl.  

Add the egg, the chilli and a bit of S & P.

Mix well.

Heat the oil in a non stick pan to a medium heat.

Grab a palm full of the potato mix and flatten it into a small pancake shape and place carefully into the pan.

Cook for about 4 minutes, or until brown, then flip and cook on other side.

Serve immediately.

I have been loving this track this week ~ very cool vid too!

Treehouses and old school play

You know that I am an advocate for slow childhood.

And despite helping my children keep up with the modern world so as not to impair them by not giving them the tools to navigate it, I am also ever so aware of the fleeting moment of time that is childhood.

We are a technology rich household, we all know how to use computers, are literate with iPad technology and use mobile phones.  I am strong believer in these things as amazing tools and resources for both our children and for us. I am happy for my kids to utilise all of these things but we have very strict time limits.

But I also aware that some of the aspects of childhood that we all enjoyed and that helped shape us into resilient adults may be on the decline.

Playing outside without toys and just nature as our guide.

Playing with mud & dirt & getting dirty are not really big on parents list of games we encourage our kids to play.

Letting the kids use hammers, drills & saws is not really something we encourage either as we worry about what might happen.

Don't get me wrong- I worry too. A lot.

But I have learned to tame my anxiety in favour of offering these things to my lads as feel it is imperative for them to know I trust them.  I want them to know I trust their judgment and that I want them to know that I am happy for them to take risks- albeit calculated.

It is about letting them just be.

To help them find quiet.

To be able to find quiet is so very important. Most adults never ever re-learn the skill that we all had as children to do just that.

And I do not mean quiet in terms of decibel volume here- I am talking about finding an inner peace.  Finding a a place inside that feels comfortable, feels good.

Taking away the white noise of the things we let overtake our days and letting our kids go at their own pace.

Over the last two weekends we have been working on an extension of our ol' skool treehouse (ol' skool in that it is just a platform with NO sides very high up in a tree). We built it a couple of years ago- I wrote about that here.

Over the last two weekends we built a lower level for the little kids- they wanted it to be like a Pirate ship.

There was sawing, there was hammering, there was hanging around in the shed finding tools & the right size nails.  The 3yo too. In fact he was the busiest.

The sun has been good to us the last 2 weekends in a row and so last Sunday evening the Pirate ship was finished.

The kids named her the 'Polly Wodger' - after our Basset hound Polly and a kind of ode to the big kids love of Monty Python.

I sewed a Pirate flag that was designed by the kids too- instead of a Skull and crossbones it was to be Polly's head and Dog bones.

Kids are so very ace.

It is so very ace to spend as much time as we can with them in this way.

I just love hanging out with my kids so much.

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S CONGEE:
If you have ever had Congee it was probably at Yum Cha.
It is one of the things at Yum CHa that  I 'must' have or it just doesn't feel like I have finished- along with the Chooks feet.  Not everyone's thing I know but must haves for our family.
I had really only ever had two varieties- chicken congee or the century egg version.
Then when we moved to Melbourne my mum found this fantastic authentic little Chinese restaurant that was easily missed as a dodgy little Chinese that only served the ubiquitous Lemon Chicken & not much else.
It turned out they do a killer Fish Head Congee and any time my mum is in Melbourne she will drive out of her way to get herself some of that Congee action! 
And the Restaurateur remembers her no matter how long between visits. A special little place.
Congee is one of my favourite comfort foods. So healthy and restorative. 
Some people are not so keen on it's texture- it is best described as a Rice Porridge, but I absolutely love it.
I often make Congee from the leftovers of Hainanese chicken- you have everything you need; stock, chicken & rice!  
It requires long cooking to dissolve the grains of rice but you can speed it up considerably in a Pressure cooker.
To make it super tasty it requires a good quality stock as it's base- then you can add whatever little things you like to zhooz it up. To do this form scratch I just use Chicken drumsticks to give it full flavour and depth. It is the bones that give good stock it's flavour.
I love to add heaps of ground white pepper & Spring onion as I serve.
Or as a textural difference sprinkle a generous amount of Fried Shallots and some Fresh chilli & coriander.
Or a lovely garnish that I heard about from one of my gorgeous readers on Instagram that I am soooo going to try!-  topping it with Ikan Bilis ( a Malaysian side dish of crispy fried anchovies and salty peanuts with the skin on). YUMMMMMMMMMMM.
Best of all just serve a variety of garnishes at the tabel and people can add their won as they like.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1.5 litres of good chicken stock (use fish stock if making Fish head version)
• 200g Jasmine rice 
• 4 chicken drumsticks (or 3 fish heads)
• 1 inch knob of ginger, sliced 
• 1 tsp salt
• ground white pepper
• Fried shallots (for garnish)
• fresh coriander (for garnish)
• fresh chilli, sliced finely

METHOD:

Place the chicken (or Fish heads), the rice, the ginger & the stock into a pan and bring to the boil.
Cook for about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours stirring occasionally to to make sure the rice does not catch.
If using a pressure cooker, once you have reached pressure,  you only need to cook for about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and remove drumsticks and shred meat off the bone. Discard the bones and replace the chicken meat back into the stock.
Check for salt and add if necessary.
(If using fish heads leave)
Serve and individually garnish.

This track has been making me happy this week.......

Eating out where children are celebrated & not just tolerated

A couple of months back two of my five boys had birthdays.

Their birthdays are a week apart.

One was turning 6.

The other 14.

My parents were travelling from interstate to celebrate both of these occasions with us.

I wanted to to do something special.

We don't do a whole lot of eating in restaurants with our big family.

There is the expense but there is also the trying to get 5...FIVE boys sitting still in environments which are not very kid friendly.

The wrangling of them tends to overtake the pleasure of the dining.

Yum Cha has been our 'go to'eating out experience.

The instantaneous arrival of the food & the already loud chatter of other large groups masking the noise of a busy family, as well as the fact that it is relatively cheap.

But this time we wanted to do something a bit more special.  And I felt as if our kids were just about ready to try out a 'real' restaurant experience.

We booked St. Katherines after hearing many great reviews about their attitude to children.

What I wasn't expecting was not just tolerance but celebration of the younger variety of humans.

What an absolute delight.

We had the most fabulous experience.

The boys felt like kings.

Taken into the inner workings of the kitchen.  They chatted with the chefs, watched as the orders were delivered to the pass & service was called. Saw the behind scenes of what brings the magic to the table.

They were invited to make their own desserts with the pastry chef.  Can you imagine how my kids reacted to this?  I mean really?! Yes, really!

The most amazing experience for my kids.  They savoured it all.

It was perfect.

We all came away feeling so so happy.  The kind of memory making that a good restaurant meal should be.  But so much more than is usually offered to children.

Not a nugget to be seen- and you know how ecstatic this makes me don't you?!

I have said it before but I will say it again- Children are capable of so much more than they are given credit for.

Congrats St. Kats on being a place that allows them to do just that.

NB: I was not paid in any way to write this post but am so happy to recommend a family friendly restaurant that does not DUMB down the food for the kids but instead treats them with the dignity they deserve.
Well done to the crew at St.Kats! 
We will definitely be back. 

TOASTED ALMOND & CORN SALAD:
In that pic above is a photo of the most amazing salad I have had the pleasure to eat in recent times. 
Shane Delia's famous Smoked Almond & Corn salad. 
Apparently it is his most asked after recipe. I get why...I really really do.
I was told by my good friend to look out for it. That is was something very very special.
Boy was she right.
I could have eaten only that and left feeling like a Queen. 
AH-MAZING!...or perhaps that should be aMAIZEing. *groan*
Here is my cheats method to do this at home.
An easier way of replicating this fine dish at home- although I highly recommend you go and eat the real deal at St. Katherines.
It goes with most things- or simply on it's own.
Absolutely delicious.
We had it last night to accompany a roast chook. 
It was part of my 'emptying out the fridge/freezer/pantry' challenge that I wrote about last post. 
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 2 cans of Corn kernels, drained well
• 3/4 cup almonds (skin on)
• a handful of chopped chives (i used mint yesterday as I had some in the garden but didn't have chives)
• 3 tablespoons light olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 cup puffed Corn ( I found this at the Health food store)
• 1/2 red onion, shaved finely
• S & P

METHOD:

In a heavy pan heat the olive oil to medium temperature and add the almonds. 
Toast them in the oil till they are dark-don't be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat. You are better off taking it slow or you will burn the almonds. 
Remove and drain on paper towel and let cool.
Set the oil aside to cool for the dressing.

Add the corn kernels to a large salad bowl.  Add the onion and the chives (or mint).

Add the red wine vinegar to the cool oil and toss through the salad.

Pop the almonds in a mortar & pestle & crunch. I like to leave them all different sizes, some bug, some small.

Then add them and the puffed corn to the corn salad, toss through, add S & P and SERVE.

Here's the new video from Melbourne's very fabulous Tiger & Me, turn it up and cook a salad why don't ya?!!!

My food challenge

This week I am trying to use up everything in my fridge & freezer without going to the shops.

A spring clean if you like.

In Australia we have very large kitchen fridges.

And lots of us have more than one fridge, maybe a drinks fridge and a large freezer as well.  I certainly do- and mine are FULL!

I remember when we lived in London our fridge was only the size of a bar fridge and I could not get my head around how people managed.

Who wants to go the the supermarket every single day?

Not this little black duck!

If you lived in a little French village and could easily buy your vegies & other goodies easily each day I can understand it but in a big city?
Really?

I am not a fan of the supermarket at all, but despite my best efforts there are still reasons I need to shop there, although I try not to go very often.

I try to buy all of our meat direct from the farmer- I buy from here, and here , here and here.  And then some of the other stuff I buy from our lovely local Organic grocer. These guys are all ace & some of the loveliest people you will ever meet. And fancy that I have actually MET the people who made that food possible.  That won't be happening when you shop at the supermarket. We become dissociated from the meaning of the food to the food being just about the dollar price.  We become blinkered to the journey of paddock to plate.

We have lost many skills as society has evolved.  One of them is 'making do'.  Making do with what you have in the pantry.  Being able to make something out of very little. Being able to use lesser cuts of meat & offal and make deliciousness.

We shop with a list and buy accordingly.  I don't have a problem with that.  But I lament the loss of being savvy.   Being inventive.  Being more skilled generally.

By buying like this it makes the food I eat have more meaning.  I know about the farmer's families, I know that they too have bills to pay (like the MASSIVE fuel costs they incur for the insane amount of weekly driving they do to get their products to the consumer) ,  children to feed, clothe and educate- it means the food cycle comes a little closer back to the real, to the the stuff we maybe don't let ourselves think about when we pick up a packet of meat at the supermarket.

I am a HUGE supporter of Farmer's markets- I have talked about it before here. And I am a big believer in real food- I have talked about that here.

 Here is a list of all the accredited Farmers Markets around Australia. Try and find one that is near you and visit. Talk to the producers. Find out more about your food!

I like to support the people that make their life producing quality food for me to eat & that do so ethically & sustainably.  That is something that is very very important to me.

Reducing waste is important to me too.

So in an effort to be more thoughtful about the bounty I am so lucky to have in my fridge & freezer & pantry I have set myself a challenge.

My kids know about it too.

I normally buy & then decide what I am going to cook. But this time I am being more strict. No adding a bit from the shops here or there. No top ups.

We are emptying the contents over the next little while and 'making do'.  Not going to the supermarket to get that missing ingredient that would complete the dish we had in mind but instead changing, substituting and re-inventing what we have already.

It is a challenge to live by the idea that we CAN make deliciousness out of what we have.  And to have the conversation with my children about food, it's origins, it's meaning, it's journey to us.   We just need to be less rigid in our thinking.

This emptying of the fridge & freezer also involves going a bit 'ol' skool' with the idea of having to wait for things.  Instant gratification is a modern convenience.  And while I am as guilty as anyone of indulging in it, I definitely believe there are benefits to learning to wait.  Patience can bring great rewards.

I am also trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat- or at least the importance we place on it as being the centrepiece of our plate.  Australians generally eat too much meat.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE meat & I m not becoming vegetarian anytime soon, but I am aware that our family are guilty of eating too much of it.  This is neither sustainable or good for our health.  So while we empty the fridge I am also elevating the vegies to a higher level.  All of my family LOVE eating vegies so this is not a particularly hard part of the challenge but a fun one nonetheless.

I started this challenge for myself on Monday and will keep going till we are at rock bottom lows!

I wrote a little about this on my Facebook page last night and told of what we have eaten so far. I feel a little like I am re-telling the classic picture book Very hungry Caterpillar here but :

Monday night we ate : Homemade Tagliatelle with home made pesto & broadbeans

Tuesday night we ate: WarialdaBelted GallowayBeef Rumpsteak with a pepper sauce and panfried broccoli & Zucchini in garlic and black pepper

Wednesday night we ate : Bundarra Berkshires Pork shoulder rubbed with my Salt & Pepper spice mix and roasted and served with a Fennel Risotto

Thursday night we ate : Caramelised Onion & Sage tart that I used some of my latest delivery of Bruny Island Cheese Co. cheese in & I served it with cumin Spiced carrots.

It will be interesting to see what happens.......but I already feel as though things have changed for the better.  That as the fridge clears my happiness at how well we are doing rises.  I feel happy that the conversation about the meaning of food is alive and well with my kids. That alone is enough reason to do it.

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S CARAMELISED ONION & SAGE TART:
I am sharing the recipe for last nights tart with you.
Last week we go our most recent delivery of Bruny Island Cheese through Nick's Cheese Club- if you are not a member already do it NOW!
I wanted to use some of the cheese in last nights dinner.
I hadn't defrosted any meat from the freezer so it was to be a vego meal.
I had a big bag of red onions and thought caramelised onions would be perfect with Nick's Mark cheese- a semi-hard cheese that is rolled with the remainingPinot grape seeds & husks after pressing (these leftovers are called the marc) & so leaving a lovely pinot flavour in the cheese. OMG Yum!!!!
So here is what I made.... it was soooo easy!!!
I made two, anticipating using the leftovers for lunches today. There was not a crumb left.  My 14yo ate one all to himself & we divided the other between the others- it was a hit!
I used the exact same method I used to make the recipe here for the caramelised onions but just added sage and not rosemary.
The result was a simple and elegant dish that would satisfy anyone.  I served it with Cumin spiced Carrots. So much yum.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
for the Caramelised Onion

• 1kg red onions
• 8 leaves Sage, chopped finely 
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• a little water if necessary

for the rest of the tart

• 2 sheets puff pastry
• 1 egg (to eggwash the pastry) 
• cheese to grate

METHOD:

preheat oven to 180C.

Cut the onion in half and slice finely. Heat a non-stick pan to a medium heat and add the extra virgin olive oil. Add the onions and sage immediately and stir frequently. Add the salt. As the onions become soft and translucent, add the sugar. It will caramelise quite quickly. Don’t let the onions brown, so you may want to turn the heat down to low to prevent this. Add a little water (1/4 cup at a time) if you need too. I do this to help cook the onions without letting them brown. This process takes about 20–25 minutes.

Let the water evaporate off and add the red wine vinegar. Stir well. Now add the balsamic vinegar, stir through for about a minute and take off the heat. 

Place your puff onto a lined baking tray and score a line gently (not all the way through the pastry) 3cm from the edge all the way around.

Grate a good amount of cheese directly onto the pastry.  Then place the onion mix over the top of this. And eggwash the edge that is left with bare pastry.

Now place in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. 

Remove and grate a little more cheese over the top.

Serve immediately.

Today sees a new Calexico album for the first time in four years. YIPPEE!!!!

I am a long time fan. Here is the first track from their album. Enjoy.