My son sat down at the kitchen table the other night, took one look at his plate and shouted ‘I hate quiche!’ , I said that’s ok I know you do but its not quiche its tart, ‘try a little and leave the rest if you don’t like it’…ten minutes later his plate was licked clean and he was requesting more!
In short…this tart is super delicious and enjoyed by all our family. The crispy easy to make hand made pastry is delicious filled with the buttery slow cooked leek base and topped with salty goats cheese and crunchy walnuts. It’s a divine combo for lunch or an evening meal.
I’m gonna have to admit to forgetting to add my walnuts for this photo shoot but please don’t make that mistake as they really do add such a lovely liight crunch to the tart.
The recipe is really easy and you could make it quicker by using ready to roll pastry or a pre-baked pastry case but I can guarantee the little extra effort to make your own is worth it.
It is best enjoyed with some freshly cooked beetroot or other cooked root vegetables on the side.
Enjoy!
Creamy Leek & Goats Cheese Tart Recipe
Serves about 6
Ingredients
Pastry
125g of plain organic flour
75g of unsalted butter
1 organic egg (separated into yolk and white)
3-4tbsp of organic milk
Pinch of salt
Filling Ingredients
25g of butter
a splash of olive oil
600g of leeks
100g of soft goats cheese
a small handful of broken walnuts
2 free range eggs and 2 egg yolks
200ml of creme fraiche
100 ml of whole milk
salt and pepper
Grease your tart/quiche tin and heat the oven to 170oc.
Start by making the pastry, combine the flour, butter and egg yolk in a bowl. I personally like to use my kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook on.
Knead until well combine, roll into a ball and wrap in clingfilm. Place in the fridge to chill for around 30mins.
Slice the leeks and melt the butter and olive oil in a frying pan. I love to use my cast iron pan for this. Cook on a medium heat for around 15 mins or until very soft. You want to try and not burn them to keep them soft and buttery.
Roll out the pastry, after the chilling period, to the cover the whole tart casing so that there is enough of the pastry to come right up the sides. I use a tart tin with a pop out bottom to make things easier afterwards.
Place the pastry into the tart up and over the sides and trim to fit.
Lay baking paper over the entire pastry casing and up the sides and fill with baking beans.
Bake the pastry for 15mins.
Set aside the cooked leeks to cool slightly. Remove the pastry case and carefully remove the paper and beans. Brush with the egg white from the separated egg in the pastry making and bake for another 5 mins to create a lovely golden seal on the pastry.
Remove from the oven. Whisk together in a jug the eggs, yolks, creme fraiche and milk and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Spread the leeks across the bottom of the pastry case, dot with blobs of goats cheese and sprinkle with the walnuts. Pour over the jug of whisked mixture being careful to not go over the sides.
Bake for 30/40mins in the oven or until golden and cook up your side vegetables.
Serve warm, slice and enjoy!
This dish is best eaten in the colder months and with locally grown organic ingredients if you can source them. It’s great to support smaller businesses and I would highly recommend a visit to your local farmers market or farm shop if you have one.