Leek and Camembert Tart
My British bestie, Rachael and I took a cooking class when we were traveling in the Loire Valley of France. The class was held in a cave where barrels and bottles of Chenin Blanc were aging in the cool air. Our instructor was a French woman named Anna who had set up a long table for us to prepare leek tarts made with creamy cheese and bacon. We rolled our pastry on the tabletop and then baked our tarts in a small portable oven Anna had brought with her. Once they were baked, we feasted on our tarts and sipped Chenin Blanc from one of the aging bottles. It’s impossible to replicate that experience, but I can still make that perfect leek tart using one of my favorite cheeses, Camembert. It may seem odd to add the rind of the cheese to the tart filling, but it adds a unique flavor that works well with the smoky bacon. Be sure to open a bottle of Chenin Blanc to pair with this beauty!
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
Leek and Camembert Tart:
3 pounds leeks, white parts and 1” of the pale green parts, thinly sliced (should be about 4 cups)
2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 slices bacon, cut into ½” pieces
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
½ cup crème fraiche
3 ounces Camembert cheese, broken into ½” pieces with rind
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed if frozen
1 egg, beaten
Process
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fill a bowl with cold water and add sliced leeks. Stir with your hand to release any sand or dirt, which will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop out leeks and pat with a towel. In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium high heat. Add leeks, salt, and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another skillet, cook the bacon over medium high heat until crisp, about 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove bacon to a plate and discard fat. To the leeks, add wine and chicken broth (or vegetable broth). Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates, about 10 more minutes. In a medium bowl add the bacon, crème fraiche and Camembert. Remove leeks from heat and add to the cheese mixture. Stir until combined and let cool to room temperature.
You can put in the refrigerator for up to 3 days if you want to assemble the tart later. On a lightly floured board roll out the puff pastry until it is 11”X11” square. Place pastry dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a fork, prick the pastry all over, about every 3” to keep it from puffing up too much in the oven. Spread leek filling on pastry dough to within 2” of the edge of each side and fold the edges over the filling, folding the corners in. Brush the pastry edges with beaten egg. Bake 20 minutes, until pastry is golden. Let tart stand for 15 minutes before serving in slices.
