Ingredients

3-4 onions
sliced
1 tbsp butter
olive oil
for drizzling
2 tsp sugar
plus a pinch
2 thyme sprigs
leaves stripped, plus an extra sprig
5 sage
leaves, shredded then finely chopped
85g fresh breadcrumb
25g fresh parmesan
(or vegetarian alternative), grated
500g tomato
(a mix of varieties looks great), thickly sliced
For the pastry
300g plain flour
plus extra for dusting
100g cold butter
cubed
85g mature cheddar
cubed
½ tsp salt
25g parmesan
(or vegetarian alternative), grated
green salad
to serve (optional)

Method
step 1
Make the pastry first. Put the flour, butter, cheddar and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times, just until the butter and cheese are in smaller pieces. Measure 150ml of very cold water into a jug. Drizzle the water into the pastry, little by little, pulsing between additions, until it comes together into a rough ball – it will feel quite doughy. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hr.

step 2
Meanwhile, in a pan over a low heat, very gently soften the onions in the butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir in the sugar, thyme and sage, turn up the heat and cook for a few mins more until golden and sticky. Season and set aside to cool a little.

step 3
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Dust a big baking sheet with more flour, then roll out the pastry on it to a rough circle, a little more than 0.5cm thick. Mix the onions with the breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

step 4
Leaving a good 5cm border all the way round, spread the onion mixture over the base, then arrange the tomatoes on top. Hand-roll and pinch the pastry edges up around the filling, pressing firmly to hold. Scatter over more thyme, plenty of seasoning and a pinch of sugar. Can now be covered and chilled for up to 12 hrs.

step 5
Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 25 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a big salad, if you like.