The French are very fond of regaling their guests with a pre-dinner apéritif which consists of a beverage, usually alcoholic like kir or/and some savoury tidbits, either hot like gougeres or cold like a selection of nuts/crackers. Since the French like to spend time in the kitchen doing it right, the guests need to be able to stave off their hunger without spoiling their appetite so when the cook finally makes an appearance, somewhat stressed, though attractively so, with some flour on their person here and there and a few strands of hair out of place, they will not regard him as the main dish! Just as importantly, pre-dinner drinks and snacks serve as a means to encourage conviviality.
Meanwhile the potager is brimming over with plump leeks and tons of thyme.
So as not to succumb--not yet anyway--to the lure of a cheesy leek and bacon quiche, I have decided to go the appetiser route and instead wrangle up a rustic leek tart.
Ingredients
Complete instructions on how to clean leeks thoroughly can be found in this past post. Gather the ingredients and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Put the butter and olive oil in a skillet over high heat until foaming--the olive oil will raise the burning point a bit, but still be careful not to burn the fat. Toss in the sliced leeks and onions, finely chopped apple, and the sugar. Stir over moderately high heat for a few minutes or until some edges of the onions and leeks are browned.
Then lower the heat as much as is possible, add the lovage/celery and let carmelize for about 15-20 minutes, stirring from time to time. The onions and leeks need not be fully carmelized as they are for French Onion Soup as they will spend some time in the oven also.
Put them in a mixing bowl. Add the thyme and the crème fraîche bit by bit as the mixture needs to be moist without being soupy--more or less than the suggested amount can be added to get the right consistency. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let cool.
Roll out the pastry on parchment paper to 1/8 thick and using a 9 inch pie plate as a template, cut around the edge of the plate with a knife. Beat the mustard with a fork--to get it more fluid--and coat thinly the round with it, leaving an one-inch-wide brim around the perimeter. Gather the scraps together into a small ball and put in the fridge.
Spread the filling as evenly as possible.
Fold the edge over, pleating it as necessary. Apply the egg wash either with a pastry brush or with your fingers or with a piece of paper towel on the folded-over edges. Using the edges of the parchment paper to carry it, put the tart on a shallow baking pan and place on the middle rack in the oven.
Take out the small ball of dough gathered from the scraps. Roll out and cut out small rounds to make biscuits which can be dusted with powdered sugar after baking. Another approach is to pair two rounds on top of each other, with some raspberry jam spread between them. Cut off a small round opening on the top, letting the jewelled colour of the jam show--a rough-and-ready version of a Linzer cookie. Put them in the oven.
Bake the tart for about 25 minutes until golden brown, rotating it if necessary halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. The small rounds should take less time, around 15 minutes.
I really liked how these turned out--fairly easy to slide off the serving plate onto individual napkins and truly tasty, a bit of tang, a bit of sweetness with a bright note of herb, luscious without being overwhelming. They were best served warm or tepid, as when they become cold, their zesty appeal is somewhat subdued. Any extra can be frozen, thawed, and re-heated gently, though the crust seems to get crumbly.
I dusted the biscuits well with confectioner's sugar; they reminded me of a baked version of Crusciki, a deep-fried Slavic pastry.
Damp and soggy conditions continue in the potager. My shipment from the plant nursery has been delayed by inclement weather. I am patiently trying to prune and prepare beds for planting between bouts of rain. The daffodils are in full bloom though.
The buds on some bearded Irises are colouring. There are already lots of sweet violets with their lush evergreen foliage in that part of the garden, and soon there will be bluebells and lilacs--blue on blue on blue on blue. It's my favourite colour so I am not complaining!
Dayo is happy with how good this warm, wet winter has been for the grass. Yum!
He also was very pleased with an art postcard sent from Tokyo by our favourite conceptual archivist, +Arthur Huang. Apparently Dayo would have some competition from other felines as Tokyo has a huge cat population. Arthur enjoys looking for such postcards among other things at craft markets, and one of his favourites is this one, which takes place monthly on the grounds of a shrine.
Conceptual Archivist? You must mean Conceptual Artist, no? He is a Conceptual Archivist because he has coupled his conceptual art with his love of collecting personal artefacts. Among other projects, you can keep up-to-date with his work-in-progress, Houses for Light at his website.
Using several varieties of Japanese mushrooms, Arthur has adapted my recipe for mushroom soup à la forestière. He is planning to make my minestrone soup soon. If he can't get white beans or chick peas, he will substitute soy, fresh or dried. In any case, I am sure it will be delicious!
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Leek and Potato Soup
Twice-baked Potatoes With Leek Stuffing
Meanwhile the potager is brimming over with plump leeks and tons of thyme.
So as not to succumb--not yet anyway--to the lure of a cheesy leek and bacon quiche, I have decided to go the appetiser route and instead wrangle up a rustic leek tart.
Ingredients
- Onions, sliced thinly, 1 cup*
- Leeks, just the white & yellow parts, sliced thinly, 1 cup*
- crème fraîche, approximately 1 heaping T
- Butter, 1 T
- Olive oil, 1 T
- Sugar, 1/4 tsp
- Apple, Granny Smith, peeled, diced, 1/8 cup*
- Lovage, diced, a few sprigs, or celery, diced 1/8 cup*
- Thyme, fresh, minced, 1/2 tsp and sprigs for garnishing--it's worth the bother of getting fresh, any extra can be dried or frozen for future use.
- Egg yolk, one mixed with a tsp of cold water for glaze
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Mustard, Dijon, approximately 1.5 teaspoons
- Short pastry, if buying, get the best you can, enough for a 9 inch round
Complete instructions on how to clean leeks thoroughly can be found in this past post. Gather the ingredients and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Put the butter and olive oil in a skillet over high heat until foaming--the olive oil will raise the burning point a bit, but still be careful not to burn the fat. Toss in the sliced leeks and onions, finely chopped apple, and the sugar. Stir over moderately high heat for a few minutes or until some edges of the onions and leeks are browned.
Then lower the heat as much as is possible, add the lovage/celery and let carmelize for about 15-20 minutes, stirring from time to time. The onions and leeks need not be fully carmelized as they are for French Onion Soup as they will spend some time in the oven also.
Put them in a mixing bowl. Add the thyme and the crème fraîche bit by bit as the mixture needs to be moist without being soupy--more or less than the suggested amount can be added to get the right consistency. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let cool.
Roll out the pastry on parchment paper to 1/8 thick and using a 9 inch pie plate as a template, cut around the edge of the plate with a knife. Beat the mustard with a fork--to get it more fluid--and coat thinly the round with it, leaving an one-inch-wide brim around the perimeter. Gather the scraps together into a small ball and put in the fridge.
Spread the filling as evenly as possible.
Fold the edge over, pleating it as necessary. Apply the egg wash either with a pastry brush or with your fingers or with a piece of paper towel on the folded-over edges. Using the edges of the parchment paper to carry it, put the tart on a shallow baking pan and place on the middle rack in the oven.
Take out the small ball of dough gathered from the scraps. Roll out and cut out small rounds to make biscuits which can be dusted with powdered sugar after baking. Another approach is to pair two rounds on top of each other, with some raspberry jam spread between them. Cut off a small round opening on the top, letting the jewelled colour of the jam show--a rough-and-ready version of a Linzer cookie. Put them in the oven.
Bake the tart for about 25 minutes until golden brown, rotating it if necessary halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. The small rounds should take less time, around 15 minutes.
I really liked how these turned out--fairly easy to slide off the serving plate onto individual napkins and truly tasty, a bit of tang, a bit of sweetness with a bright note of herb, luscious without being overwhelming. They were best served warm or tepid, as when they become cold, their zesty appeal is somewhat subdued. Any extra can be frozen, thawed, and re-heated gently, though the crust seems to get crumbly.
I dusted the biscuits well with confectioner's sugar; they reminded me of a baked version of Crusciki, a deep-fried Slavic pastry.
Damp and soggy conditions continue in the potager. My shipment from the plant nursery has been delayed by inclement weather. I am patiently trying to prune and prepare beds for planting between bouts of rain. The daffodils are in full bloom though.
The buds on some bearded Irises are colouring. There are already lots of sweet violets with their lush evergreen foliage in that part of the garden, and soon there will be bluebells and lilacs--blue on blue on blue on blue. It's my favourite colour so I am not complaining!
Dayo is happy with how good this warm, wet winter has been for the grass. Yum!
He also was very pleased with an art postcard sent from Tokyo by our favourite conceptual archivist, +Arthur Huang. Apparently Dayo would have some competition from other felines as Tokyo has a huge cat population. Arthur enjoys looking for such postcards among other things at craft markets, and one of his favourites is this one, which takes place monthly on the grounds of a shrine.
Conceptual Archivist? You must mean Conceptual Artist, no? He is a Conceptual Archivist because he has coupled his conceptual art with his love of collecting personal artefacts. Among other projects, you can keep up-to-date with his work-in-progress, Houses for Light at his website.
Using several varieties of Japanese mushrooms, Arthur has adapted my recipe for mushroom soup à la forestière. He is planning to make my minestrone soup soon. If he can't get white beans or chick peas, he will substitute soy, fresh or dried. In any case, I am sure it will be delicious!
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Leek and Potato Soup
Twice-baked Potatoes With Leek Stuffing
I love the idea of a leek tart! I can't quite imagine the Granny Smith apples in there, I confess, but I will independently test your experimental protocol and share my results with you at my earliest opportunity.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, we are having a long drawn, late winter so no daffodils have bloomed yet.
I was thinking of your 'galette you made for your website, Rajini. I love making up recipes from ingredients on hand as I hate food shopping (which is done by The Calm One), and there was a lone Granny Smith skulking in the back of the fridge so in it went in the recipe. It did provide a bit of tang and sweetness, but I am sure any variety would work. Since I wanted the onion/leek taste to dominate, I used a very small amount of apple, and also I did not want to make the mixture too juicy as the tart slices are to be served as hand-held appetizers. Looking forward to your sharing experimental results!
DeleteBefore you know it, the daffs will bloom. Hang in there. :-)
Thank you for sharing my postcard and information. I will keep you posted on the minestrone soup. This weekend for sure as I need some relaxation and heartiness between all the work on the Houses for Light!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome, dear Arthur. It will be interesting to hear how your version of the soup comes out. You are right, cooking is relaxing!
DeleteI made this leek & onion tart tonight to take to a dinner at a friend's house. Everyone praised it, and I thought it was easy to make and wonderful to eat. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Next time I make it, I'll make little individual tarts in a jam tart tray, for the launch of my partner's book in May.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome, Phil! Thanks so much letting me know how the recipe turned out for you--I am very pleased that it was liked. Your idea of individual tarts is very appealing. Please pass on my best wishes to your partner!
DeleteTonight's the night for the book launch (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=585259328158491&set=a.365342803483479.93839.264849313532829&type=1&theater) and I've just finished 100 mini leek/apple/thyme mini-tarts. They turned out pretty well, but a lot paler than yours; I think the pan was too cool so the filling stewed rather than sauteed. And I forgot the mustard in all but the last tray. Picture here (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201023884629890&set=a.4699165567689.2179518.1550659760&type=1&theater).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information, Phil. And bravo! 100 mini tarts indeed--lots of work. Lucky Sabrina! Unfortunately only fb users can see your second link. I would love to see the picture of your mini tarts though!
ReplyDeleteTo start the all important carmelization, the butter/olive oil has to be very hot and foaming. If that was not the case, then a possible solution was to raise the heat and stir until the onions became hot enough and eventually lowering the heat for longer and slower carmelizing. Very fresh onions also take longer to carmelize. I have not done this, but I suppose caramel colouring could have been added at the end. Cooks are nothing but resourceful when faced with problems. :-)