Spring has certainly arrived, and even as a self-proclaimed autumn fan, I am thoroughly enjoying the sun beating down on my face and the cool breeze that comes with it this time of year.
My recipe for Leek Tart with Lemon Zest is simple and tasty to have in the garden as a light meal, accompanied with blanched sprouting broccoli, or a simple salad and buttered new potatoes. Leeks are often an unpraised ingredient in my opinion, and they really can offer wondrous flavour and act as the star ingredient in many dishes. The lemon in this dish, really adds a vibrancy and lifts it into a bright and delicious treat for al fresco dining.
Leek Tart with Lemon Zest
Leek tart with lemon zest
Summary Published On 2017-04-09
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 125 g/4oz plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 55 g/2oz butter, cubed
- 30 -45ml/2-3 tbsp cold water
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 medium leeks finely chopped
- 2 medium leeks halved length ways
- 125 grams soft goat cheese
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- salt
- pepper
- 2 shallots chopped
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup
For the tart filling
Instructions
- First of all, make your pastry. Use cold hands and work quickly so the dough doesn’t become warm. I used this recipe on BBC Food – http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortcrustpastry_1278
- Whilst your dough is chilling, fry your chopped leeks in a pan on a medium heat with the garlic, butter, bay leaves and shallots until softened. Remove from heat
- In a separate pan, place the halved leeks with the outside face down in butter and fry gently for around 4 minutes
- Flip the halved leeks over, and add in the balsamic vinegar and the honey. Cook for no more than 2 minutes and then remove from the heat
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together your eggs, the lemon zest, the goat cheese and parsley until well combined. It is good to add in a good glug of milk at this point to loosen up the mixture. Season well with salt and pepper
- Once the dough has been chilled, roll out and line a buttered tart dish. Trim off any overhanging pastry
- Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes, on 190. Remove from the oven
- Stir the chopped leek and shallot mix into the egg mixture and then pour into the pastry case. At this stage, grate Grana Padano cheese over the top. You can also use cheddar or gruyere if that’s what you have in the fridge
- Top the tart with the halved leeks, keeping them on the surface as much as possible to show of the beautiful layers within them
- Bake the tart for 30 minutes on 190, and remove. Allow to cool before removing from dish
Leave a Reply