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Hmmm, savoury tarts, love them. This is a great vegetarian recipe - eat them as a snack or as part of a meal. The flavour is very delicate, and you could try using different cheeses. The original recipe, from Nigel Slater, called for a cheese called taleggio, which I hadn't heard of and couldn't find, so I used Cheshire cheese. However, in future I would consider using a mild blue cheese like dolchelatte, or even something strong like parmesan or stilton. I love cheese and pastry so much. From following this recipe I had loads of the filling left over, so although you're supposed to make 12 tarts, you could make many more, or one big pie.
Ingredients
- 500g of leeks (about three of them)
- 100g of unsalted butter
- 100g of Cheshire cheese
- Salt and pepper, to your taste
- 375g of puff pastry (either ready rolled or a block)
- 1 egg
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Cut the roots and tough green stalks off the leeks. Slice the rest thinly. Put the slices in a colander and rinse them thoroughly.
- Take a heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt the butter in it over a gentle heat.
- Add the leeks, still wet from their wash, to the butter.
- Cover the pan with a sheet of greaseproof paper. I know! Weird, huh? But I obeyed Nigel, and who knows what might have happened if I didn't. Put the lid on top of the paper, and cook over a low to medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir now and again, because you don't want the leeks to brown, or the paper to catch fire.
- Cut the cheese into little cubes and mix it with the leeks, along with some salt and pepper.
- Roll out the pastry (if it isn't rolled already) to about half a centimetre thick.
- Cut out 12 discs that are 8cm across. Place half of them on a baking tray (cover the baking tray with some greaseproof paper first).
- In a little bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Use the egg to brush the edges of the six pastry circles on your sheet.
- Put a dollop of leek mixture in the centre of each pastry circle.
- Put the six remaining pastry circles on top of each tart, and press down the edges lightly. Cut two slits in the top of each one.
- Brush each tart with the remaining egg and bake for 25 minutes.
.JPG)
Hmmm, savoury tarts, love them. This is a great vegetarian recipe - eat them as a snack or as part of a meal. The flavour is very delicate, and you could try using different cheeses. The original recipe, from Nigel Slater, called for a cheese called taleggio, which I hadn't heard of and couldn't find, so I used Cheshire cheese. However, in future I would consider using a mild blue cheese like dolchelatte, or even something strong like parmesan or stilton. I love cheese and pastry so much. From following this recipe I had loads of the filling left over, so although you're supposed to make 12 tarts, you could make many more, or one big pie.