Herb and Leek Tart
(1 vote)
(1 vote)
Difficulty:
advanced
Difficulty
Preparation:
1 hr 15 min.
Preparation
ready in 1 hr 45 min.
Ready in
Ingredients
for
6
- For the pastry
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 8 Tbsps cold water
- squeezed lemon juice
- For the filling
- 2 Tbsps butter
- 4 Leeks (sliced)
- 9 ozs Crème fraiche
- ⅞ cup double cream
- 1 cup grated Cheese (e. g. strong Cheddar)
- 2 Tbsps chopped, mixed Fresh herbs (e. g. thyme, parsley)
- 4 eggs
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- grated Nutmeg
- To serve
- Baby spinach
Preparation steps
1.
For the pastry: sift together the flour and the salt into a mixing bowl.
2.
Work the butter with a knife until it is soft. Rub 55g| 2 oz butter into the flour and salt.
3.
Add the water and lemon juice and mix to a fairly soft elastic dough. Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth.
4.
Roll out the dough into an oblong, 3 times as long as it is wide.
5.
Dice the remaining butter and put 1/4 of it over the top 2/3 of dough. fold the bottom third up and the top third down and give it a half turn, so that the folds are now at the sides. Seal the edges by pressing with a rolling pin.
6.
Repeat the rolling and folding process until all the butter is used.
7.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
8.
Heat the oven to 200°C (180° fan) 400°F gas 6.
9.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line a 24cm|9" flan tin.
10.
For the filling: heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the leeks for 2-3 minutes until softened. Set aside to cool.
11.
Mix together the crème fraîche, cream, cheese, herbs and eggs and season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
12.
Gently stir in the leeks and put into the pastry case. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is set and golden. Serve hot or warm with a green salad.
