Leek and Hazelnut Tart
The leek is such an important part of Welsh culture that it is their national emblem. The following is an absolutely stunning Welsh vegetarian dish that prominently features this vegetable. It is rich and savory and we’ll bet than any meat eaters in your life will swear that there is bacon in it. But there isn’t. Rather its savory goodness comes from the intermixing of sautéed leeks, roasted hazelnuts, and the use of a good hard goat cheese. We found goat gouda to work wonderfully, but suspect that a sharp goat cheddar would work as well. The following is adapted from a version presented in the 2010 Illustrated Encyclopedia of British Cooking (ISBN 978-0754819127). 1½ cups flour Rub the butter cubes into the seasoned flour and add just enough water to make a dough. Gather into a ball. Roll the pastry out to line a 10” diameter pan, making sure that you have a rim at least 2” tall. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400° F. Prick the base of the pastry shell with a fork at 2” intervals. Place into hot oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the pastry begins to barely brown. Remove from the oven and brush with beaten egg. Return to oven and continue baking for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Warm olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the leeks and sauté until soft. Mix together the goat milk and chevre to make a thick cream. To this add in the remaining egg, cooked leeks, mustard, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and ½ of the chopped hazelnuts. Season with salt and pepper and pour the mixture into the prebaked pastry shell. Top with the remaining cheese and hazelnuts. Place into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes until the filling has set and has developed a golden crust. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Archive |
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