A savory tart that I have been making for almost 30 years in my culinary career. I have used many blue cheeses such as Maytag, Point Reye, Northern blue Lights. The crumblier the cheese the better but I have also used a creamy roquefort. This recipe was featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Culture Magazine.
- Pastry Dough
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3-4 Tbsp Pellengrino/sparkling water or regular cold water.
- Filling
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 pound small fingering or new potatoes, boiled and cut into 1/4" slices
- 1 cup MN Northern Light Blue Cheese or other good quality blue cheese
- 1/2 Tbsp. chopped Rosemary or Thyme
- fleur de sell to garnish
-
Pastry Dough: In a medium bowl, blend the flour and salt. Using a small knife, cut the flour into the pieces and drop into the flour mixture. Using your fingertips, gently work the flour into the butter. It is okay to have small chunks but don't over work the mixture. I like to do this in a cool spot, if the butter is too soft to work with, place the whole bowl in the fridge. One Tbsp. at a time, drizzle with water evenly over the flour mixture, bringing the dough together to form a disk. If the mixture doesn't seem like it is coming together, add another Tbsp. of water. Wrap in parchment paper (I like to use this because I can roll it right out on the parchment paper. Let chill for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough into a 11" circle and gently lay into the bottom of a 9" tart plan. Fit the dough up against the sides of the pan making sure to have it gently rest inside the pan. With a rolling pin, roll completely across the tart pan which will trim the sides. You can set this in the fridge till you are ready to assemble.
Assemblage: Arrange the potato slices in overlapping layers in the middle of the tart. Be sure to cover the entire bottom. Sprinkle with a little salt over the potatoes. Crumble the cheese around the top of the potatoes. You could get to this step and cover with saran wrap and set in your fridge over night and bake off the next day or if the dough seems warm, let this set in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and the cream well. Pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the desired herb. You want to leave at least an 1/4" space between the cream/potato filling and the top of the tart dough pan. This will prevent it from bubbling over in the oven. You could also bake on a sheet pan.
Bake at 350º in the middle of the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling set. Be sure to rotate during half of the cooking time n the oven.
Let set for 10 minutes. Remove from the tart ring and slide the tat onto a cake stand or plate. I like to eat this at room temperature. Makes a great lunch with some arugula or also an addition to a soup for dinner.
Recipe Notes: I have also used individual 4" tart pans so that each guest can have their own tart, muffin tins which are great for a picnic and easy to package and carry or made in long rectangular removable bottom tart pan which makes for a different look when serving.
I find when using sparkling water it gives the crust a little added zip of crispness. I also roll the dough out to about a little over 1/4 of an inch.