Checking out the food blogging events taking place this month, I came across two similar ones. Becke from Columbus Foodie wanted bloggers to create a pie or tart that represents the region we live in and Jeanne from Cook Sister got mischievous with her topless tarts announcement. I had a few problems though. One, I have never baked a pie or tart in my life. Two, I didn’t have a food mixer to make the dough with. I’ve been yearning for a KitchenAid for a long time, which I’ll hopefully get in the near future. Three, there was no time to experiment with complicated recipes even though I would have loved to make a South African “souttert”. I needed to be successful the first time.
Scouring my recipe collection I found this lovely Good Housekeeping recipe. Admittedly, this was one of the rare occasions I didn’t make a dish from scratch. Instead of following the recipe by preparing the pâté brisée, I simply bought ready-made short crust pastry. It was even rolled to line a 28cm flan dish! It never ceases to amaze me what is available in shops these days.
Back to the recipe. Everything else was relatively straight forward. As you can see the tart came out beautifully and tasted delicious as well. Having done some research I can now conclude that this tart is French.
Creamy Leek Tart
Preparation: 15 mins, plus chilling – Cooking: 35-45 mins
Ingredients
- 250g (9 oz) short crust pastry
- 900g (2 lb) trimmed leeks
- 50g (2 oz) butter
- 30ml (2 tbsp) water
- salt and pepper
- 3 egg yolks
- 300ml (½ pint) double cream
- nutmeg
Method
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 25cm (10 inch) flan dish. Chill for at least 20 minutes, and then lightly prick the base with a fork.
- Chop the leeks and melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the leeks and stir to coat in butter. Add the water, cover and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until very soft, but not coloured. Season well. Set aside and cool.
- Beat the egg yolks and cream together, adding a little nutmeg. Spread the leeks in the pastry case and pour over the egg and cream mixture.
- Bake in the oven at 200°C (fan 180°C/400°F/gas 6) for 15 minutes then lower the oven setting to 190°C (fan 170°C/375°F/gas 5) and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until set and browned on top.
Method
- This tart is best served as an accompaniment to a main meal.
Notes
- You can use a loose-bottomed flan dish if you like.
Oh, trust me, I hear you about yearning for a KitchenAid. I could even justify the expense… but I simply don’t have the space in the kitchen. It’s either the KitchenAid or the sink! But we soldier on… My mom used to make souttert, long before I could even pronounce quiche – and I loved it! Thanks for bringing back childhood memories and what fab pictures. Thanks also for daring to go topless – if this were Scope there would probably be little black stars pasted on the entries
)
Hi Michelle,
Found you from Jeanne’s round-up and so glad I did. You have a lovely blog here. -Susan
Amazing indeed! Also from Jeann’s round up. I am glad to discover your lovely blog.
Jeanne: Luckily we do have the space, but it’s no fun when things start breaking all at once and money needs to be spent elsewhere.
We’re in the process of getting the oven fixed, so in a few months we’ll look into a KitchenAid again. As for souttert, I can’t wait to start experimenting with them. Now that is if we actually have a working oven. Going topless was great fun. Think of more naughty stuff in the future!
Susan & Anh: Thanks, guys. Comments like yours really spurs my motivation to keep posting as much as possible while maintaining good quality.
I made this tart as part of xmas dinner, it was perfect, easy recipe so easy and it looks and smells sooo good, I was shocked that something so good can be soo easy, it was very impressive
Pickieeater: Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like you had a fantastic Christmas meal.