Vivre La France
If there’s one thing to be said for the French, it’s that they really know how to treat an ingredient right. When you find something in season at the farmer’s market, reverting to (and maybe combining) some classic French techniques is the surest way to create a simple and extremely satisfying meal that showcases the flavor of whatever it is you are cooking.
Enter the humble leek. Readily available now that we are moving into the Fall, this onion relative never gets enough credit! So when GrowNYC put out a call for recipes with “star ingredients” and I saw leeks on the list with a wide list of trendy veggies like beets, sweet potatoes, and the ever formidable and perennially (inexplicably) glamorous kale, I knew I had to take action in one of my favorite treats’ defense.
All you really need for this recipe is a standard size bunch of leeks. Chances are you already have most of everything else in the fridge already! The techniques (confit and a basic tart filling) and other ingredients in this recipe are very limited and really get out of the way to let my lovely leek shine!
“Live and Let Leek” Tart
Makes one 9-inch tart
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen pie crust
For the leeks:
- 4 large leeks, halved lengthwise and cut across into ¼ thick slices
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the custard:
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
To finish:
- ½ cup (roughly ½ pound) crumbled Bûcheron (or other aged goat cheese), rind trimmed
Directions:
Let’s start with our leeks and a very simple cooking method: the classic confit. In a large pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add your leek slices and toss them in the butter to coat them. Stir in the water and salt, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the leeks, stirring every few minutes, for about 25 minutes or until they are nice and tender. Then uncover and raise the heat slightly and cook for about 5 minutes to get the excess water to evaporate. Be careful to keep stirring and not let the heat get to high! You don’t want your leeks to brown!
Meanwhile, in between stirring the leeks, preheat the oven to 375˚ F and do your custard prep. This could not be simpler (thank you nation of France!). Just quickly combine the milk, heavy cream, egg, egg yolk, and salt in a bowl and whisk. Done.
Now when your leeks are finished, pull out your frozen pie crust and crumble half of the Bûcheron (goat cheese) into the bottom. Then spread your confited leeks on top of that. Pour the custard over the leeks and let it ooze to fill all the crevices and fill in the crust. Gently shift the crust around a bit to make sure it distributes evenly if you need to. Then crumble more of the Bûcheron (goat cheese) on top.
Put the tart in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the custard has set and everything is nice and browned and bubbly. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to sit for a few minutes so that the custard sets up a bit more.
Once cool, slice it up and throw it in your lunch box with some greens and eat it at room temperature for lunch!