Leek and gruyere tart
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4–6
Spring is well and truly on the way, we can feel it. What better way than to call in the lighter days with a light crisp leek and cheesy tart.
You can use a 35x10cm/14x4in rectangular tart tin or a 24cm/10in round tart tin for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 180g/6oz plain flour
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 90g/3¼oz cold unsalted butter
For the filling
- splash olive oil
- 3 medium leeks, halved and chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 heaped tsp fennel seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 free-range eggs
- 250ml/9fl oz double cream
- 1 tsp dried tarragon
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 1 large handful baby spinach
- 80g/3oz gruyère, grated
- 50g/1¾oz strong cheddar, grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- cucumber, to serve (optional)
- rocket, to serve (optional)
Method
Put the flour, salt and butter into a food processor. Blitz until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. Put the blender on a low speed and while blending, gently pour 60ml/2fl oz cold water into the mixture, little by little. Stop when it forms a soft dough – you might not need all the water.
Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and roll it out until it is large enough to cover the size of your chosen tart tin.
Cover the rolled dough with baking paper on both sides and place it carefully in the fridge for a minimum of one hour.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil. Once hot, fry the leeks, onions and fennel seeds for a few minutes, then add the garlic are fry until the vegetables are softened and lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, double cream, tarragon, lemon zest, baby spinach and gruyère. Season with salt and pepper then mix well to combine.
Add the fried leeks to the egg mixture. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
Remove the pastry from the fridge. Rest at room temperature for 10 minutes, then remove the baking paper and carefully place the pastry in the tart tin.
Gently press down the edges and trim off any excess hanging over the edges using a serrated knife.
Gently prick the base of the tart with a fork. Cover with baking paper and fill with baking beans (or uncooked rice). Blind bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove the baking beans and paper, and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Then pour the egg mixture into the pastry case. Level it out with the back of a spoon and sprinkle over the cheddar.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, until the filling is golden, just set and slightly puffy.
Leave the tart to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve slices with a side of rocket and cucumber salad if you fancy.
