Leek Tartlets

Prep time: 30 minutes

Yield: 8 portions

Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Can be frozen
INGREDIENTS
Pâte Brisée (Dough)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup cold butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 5 tablespoon very cold water
Filling
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 small leeks or 1 medium one
  • 1 cup sharp cheese such as cheddar, gruyère or emmental
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Salt to taste
  • Ground black pepper to tastes
  • 4 slice bacon
  • 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes
TIPS AND THOUGHTS
  • Traditional leek tarts do not have bacon or tomatoes.
    • For smokiness: add bacon.
    • For tang: add cherry tomatoes.
  • Do not overwork your dough when making it. It’s not supposed to look perfectly homogeneous before resting. It should not have visible large chunks of butter.
  •  I often make batches of dough and freeze them for later use. It will take a couple hours to thaw.
No tart shells, no problem!
  • Roll dough and make disks about 20 cm in diametre.
  • Place dough on lined cookie sheet.
  • Put about 1/4 cup of filling in the centre.
  • Fold dough’s edges over about half the filling.
STEPS
Dough
  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. 
  2. Cut butter into cubes and add to flour. 
  3. Using a pastry blender or hands, mix to a grainy texture.
    • Butter should be about pea size.
  4. Add water, lemon juice and egg yolk.
  5. Work dough with your hands to combine until you can form a ball.
    • Dough should not be perfectly smooth at this stage.
  6. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Filling
  1. If adding bacon to your dish, heat oven to 375° F and place bacon on a lined cookie sheet to bake until crispy. Takes about 10 minutes.
  2. In a frying pan, melt butter over medium heat.
  3. Remove leek roots and slice them in half lenghtwise. 
  4. Wash them under cold water to remove grits between layers.
  5. Cut halves into thin slices.
  6. Add leek to pan. Cook until they are softened. Takes about 10 minutes.
  7. Once bacon is cooked, remove from oven and let cool a bit so you can cut in little strips.
  8. In a large bowl, grate cheese and combine ingredients:
    • Eggs (you may also add the egg white left over if you just made dough) 
    • Cooked leeks
    • Milk
    • Nutmeg 
    • Salt and pepper
    • Crispy bacon strips
  9. Roll dough fairly thin (about 4 mm thick) and cut to size to place into 8 tartlet shells. 
  10. Divide filling into shells.
  11. If adding tomatoes, cut into quarters and place on top of tartlets.
  12. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until eggs are set.