Florence Fabricant's Leek, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart

I have to say that when I first saw this recipe in the paper, my eyes sort of glazed over and I just kept going. I don't really know why - after all, I like vegetables and tarts and goat cheese - but perhaps I judged too quickly that the combination of all three would be fussy and twee and not really my kind of thing. I figured it was one less thing I'd have to try, moved on and promptly forgot all about it.

And then, a few months later, Hannah announced she was closing up her food blog to continue elsewhere and told me that if I hadn't already made the tart, I should get to it. Right quick. Well, she didn't actually say Right Quick, but it was implied. So, I made my way through the Internets, googling left and right to find the archived recipe. And, like it was meant to be, I found it. Just waiting for me to come by and snatch it up.

Oh, I'm so glad I did. Thank you, Hannah, for pointing me in the right direction. And thank you, Florence, for coming up with this in the first place. Because, dear readers, I'm pleased to say that we've got another winner here, another one for the laminated files, the Hall of Fame. Yes, it's that good.

First of all, it's just so pretty. But then, it's also just so easy. Well, for a tart. And most importantly? It's fantastically delicious. Crisp, buttery pastry encasing a sweet and mellow filling of sauteed vegetables, topped with tangy, crumbled goat cheese - I mean, it really is as good as it sounds.

Better even.

The hardest thing about this was contemplating the frozen puff pastry. I'd never used any before (ridiculous, I know) and found myself a bit intimidated by the prospect of pate feuilletee in my very own house. But really, all there is to it is a bit of unfolding and rolling. That's it! Well, and some trimming. A monkey could do it. A monkey with knife skills.

You saute leeks and mushrooms and sliced fennel (for all you fennel haters, I swear to you that the anise flavor is imperceptible. Just a faint background note! Bringing all the livelier flavors to the fore! It's delicious. Trust me) before halving the defrosted puff pastry and rolling each piece out into a long rectangle (I halved in the wrong direction which proves that my recipe-reading skills are for naught, or that a monkey could do this better than me). You have to trim the edges and then form a little border and glaze it with an egg wash, which sounds irritating, but is finished quite quickly and the benefit is that your tart puffs up in all the right places and just looks so professionally appealing.

The pastry gets baked empty the first time, is filled with a goat-cheese-and-egg mixture for the second baking and then receives the topping of sauteed vegetables and goat cheese for the third pass in the oven under the broiler for a final, burnished touch. I set out still-warm squares of this for my guests and they were gone - gone! - in minutes.

I'm beginning to think that Florence Fabricant might just have the best recipes at the New York Times.

Leek, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart
Yields 10 to 12 servings

1 small bulb fennel
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and rinsed carefully
16 medium cremini or white mushrooms (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 4-ounce package puff pastry (like Dufour), defrosted according to package directions
3 eggs
8 ounces goat cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim fennel of green top and root end, reserving fronds and quarter bulb from top to bottom. Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, cut fennel and leeks into paper-thin slices. Clean and slice mushrooms.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat; add fennel and leeks and saute until just tender but not brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Heat remaining teaspoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms and saute until they release all their liquid and most of it boils away, about 5 minutes. Combine fennel mixture with mushrooms and saute together briefly; season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

3. Unfold puff pastry onto lightly floured surface or Silpat; cut in half lengthwise to form two long rectangles. Gently roll out each rectangle to approximately 5 by 14 inches and place on cookie sheet (or cut into two circles, if desired). Trim edges by 1/4 inch strips all around; set strips aside. Break one egg into a small bowl; beat slightly. Brush edges of pastry with some egg. Use trimmed strips to make a raised border on each. (Or, fold pastry edges over to form a rim.) Brush entire surface with remaining beaten egg. Prick interior of pastry all over with a fork. Bake unti pale gold, about 10 minutes. If pastry has puffed up inside edge, press it down gently. Set aside.

4. Meanwhile, combine remaining eggs with 6 ounces of goat cheese and blend until smooth. Spread onto pastry. Return to oven and bake just until set, about 4 minutes. Remove from oven and spread with mushroom-leek mixture. Crumble remaining cheese on top. Just before serving, broil tarts for a few minutes, until cheese softens and starts to brown. Garnish with fennel fronds.

Comments

[Tanna]

I know just how you feel about the frozen puff pastry. I laughed at myself after I used it the first time, it's a joy. I've been meaning to try this one.

[deb]

Ah, yet again, thank you Luisa! I have had this bookmarked for months and months as I love the combination (I get a leek/mushroom/goat cheese crepe from Le Granne Cafe at least once a month) and now I know it's gold! I've never worked with puffed pastry, either, and suspect that when I try it, I'll replace it with a pate brisee because I always have to be difficult, don't I? (Please don't answer.)

[Marce]

mmmm it sounds and looks delicious. The addition of goat cheese must work wonders with the leek-mushroom combo, I´m gonna have to try it.
I´m definitely against frozen pastries though. I find that it´s way too easy to make it myself to do otherwise (and I get to flavor the dough.)
Risking being egocentric and self-referential, like one of those academic authors who keep quoting themselves, I recomend trying this recipe for tart pastry (it´s full of flavor, low in fat, really easy and can be tweaked as you like): http://pipinthecity.blogspot.com/2006/11/tart-to-remember.html

[Holley]

Stop reading the stuff on my kitchen counter! I too clipped this recipe several weeks ago and have kept thinking it wasn't quite worth it, my husband doesn't much love goat cheese, yada yada... but now I'm gonna do it. I think it sounds great! Thank you Luisa!

[Lia]

I make a similar goat cheese and leek tart that my friend Olivia introduced me to, but it's made with pate brisee. Like you, I've always been afraid of puff pastry. This might make me get over the fear!

[Molly]

Dufour puff pastry is dreamy, isn't it? It's kind of a weird grayish color when it's frozen, but then - GORGEOUS. As is your tart, I should say. It looks like it would make a wonderful Sunday lunch, maybe, or a light dinner, with a green salad. Mmm, mmm.

Oh, and P.S. Did you see that I, in a flurry of half-asleep fingers, deleted your comment on my newest post this morning? Seriously, Blogger's comment moderation feature is getting me in trouble. That, and checking my e-mail when I'm too sleepy to see straight. So sorry, my friend.

[Luisa]

Tanna - so glad you felt the same way! PP is a joy indeed. I kind of can't wait to use it again.

Deb - ok, I know you told me not to answer, but I have to anyway ;) A pate brisee would be delicious, too, of course. But if you've been like me and are afraid of premade puff pastry, try it this way...do. It's just so much lighter and flakier than pate brisee is, and contrasts so nicely with the filling (plus, with the pate brisee, you'd have to readjust all the times and everything...isn't that a pain? :) rhetorical question, of course).

Marce - well, I agree with you on frozen pastries in general, but puff pastry seems to me to be in a class of its own. It's just SO much more difficult to make from scratch and the DuFour product is so delicious and all-natural (and for us New Yorkers, local), that I don't think I'd use anything else. Thanks for your link, though!

Holley - you're welcome! Funny how it looked underwhelming to you, too. It's not, I promise.

Lia - yes, get over the fear, I urge you. With that premade stuff, it's just easy as - er - pie.

Molly - grayish? I don't know - mine looked all creamy and beige. But whatever. It is indeed a DREAM. And yes, as a main course with a salad, it'd be delicious (plus, you'd get to eat more of it than just a 2x2 inch square because all of your hungry friends ate up the rest in the blink of an eye while your back was turned, icing a cake or something).

[Grant]

I too am a little affraid of puff pastry for some reason. Although I have used it before to make a caramelized onion tart using a recipe from Nigel Slater's book, Appetite. A friend recently told me about a recipe she does for mini minced meat pies using puff pastry and a muffin tin, which sounds really cute. Maybe I'll be using more puff pastry in 2007. Does that count as a resolution?

Anyway, this tart looks fantastic!

[deb]

I completely forgot about the local part. DuFour is literally blocks from our wee neighborhood, and despite my fusspot tendencies, this will be what forces me to get over my fear of it. (It's not it's fault, really, but puff pastry's proximity to phyllo dough in the freezer case always brings back bad memories.) Thanks for the encouragement!

[Anne]

Gorge-Ous!

This one's going in the archives for January. Well, hopefully it will stay in your archives so I can look it up later.

Conquering culinary fears is important, so congrats! Mine is yeast. (shakes fist in air) Someday, yeast, someday!

[Molly]

Creamy and beige? Hm. I wonder if my Dufour didn't weather the cross-country trip so well? Every time I've bought it, it's had this weird tan / gray look. Ah well, either way, it still baked up just fine! But hm.

[Snoskred]

Oh my gosh, that looks incredible!

[Luisa]

Grant - a resolution for more puff-pastry is a great resolution! Easy to keep, too, which is important.

Deb - yes! Hooray for local! You will love it.

Anne - the recipe's going nowhere, I promise. And as for yeast, come on! You can do it, I KNOW you can. 2007 can be your year of yeast!

Molly - I wonder. Maybe it's just oxidation?

Snoskred - well, thanks! It tasted pretty great, too.

[(the other) molly]

For real, I cannot imagine a better combination of things than pastry, leeks, cheese and mushroom. I am drooling.

[hannah]

Oh, it is SO, so good. I should make it again next week.

Also, if you are terrified of puff pastry, I cannot recommend enough the rough puff pastry recipe from the Zuni Cafe cookbook- all the goodness of handmade puff with none of the pain in the rear.

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