Leek Tart

In lieu of an update of any kind, I am posting this fairly long recipe. As background, Speedy's birthday was March 23rd, a Tuesday. She often works late on Tuesdays and comes home famished, too tired to do anything but eat and go to bed. This Tuesday was no different, though I did manage to sneak a little card into her clipboard and steal her for 20 minutes for lunch (I took the day to "work" from home.) I had asked her for two weeks what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, imagining that she would request some exotic multi-layered confection that would take days of watching DIY Youtube videos to figure out how to make. But no. She declared that she wanted "Greens Pie". As in, kale. Or maybe spinach. I failed to envision a way that this could be sufficiently spectacular for my sweety's birthday, but I did recall that my dear friend had a copy of Deborah Madison's cookbook, from the restaurant Greens. I promptly availed myself of his generosity and found the perfect springtime "Greens Pie".

The dough

1C unbleached white flour
3/8 tsp salt
4 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2-1/2 to 3 T cold water

toss the flour and salt together in a medium bowl , then, using your fingers, rub the butter into the mixture until it is evenly distributed. Sprinkle 2-1/2 T water over the top and toss the mix with a fork. If needed, add just enough additional water to bring the dough together, no more than the remaining 1/2 T. shape the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap, flatten it slightly and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Take the dough out, and roll on a lightly floured board to about 1/8th inch thick. Use a dough scraper to lift the dough off the board and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate or tart tin. Trim the edges, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. Preheat the oven to 425.

Now, forget the dough for an hour and make your filling:

4-5 C leeks, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rings
3 T butter
1/2 C white wine (you can also use water)
1/2 t salt
pepper
2 eggs
1 C cream or creme fraiche
2-3 T good mustard
2 ounces cheese-- your choice. 4 ounces if using goat cheese
2 T chives, sliced into narrow rounds

Wash the leeks very well and drain. Melt the butter in a wide skillet, add the leeks and cook over medium 2-3 minutes. Add the wine or water, and salt and cook slowly until the leeks are tender, 10-15 more minutes, adding more water if necessary. Season with pepper. Beat eggs and cream together with mustard. Add leeks and cheese. If you are using goat cheese, reserve half to sprinkle over the top. Set aside.

Now go partially bake your tart shell: Remove it from the freezer, take off the wrap and put it in the 425 oven until it is just beginning to color, 8-10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375, and wash some dishes while it cools (leave the door open a little.) After about ten minutes, pour the custard into the pie shell, scatter chives around the surface (and remaining goat cheese, if that's what you are using) and bake for about 40 minutes to an hour-- until golden. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.



(the cat approved.)