Tarts Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Lake Lure Cottage KitchenLake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I am always on a quest for new ideas for pastry crust. Pies, both savory and sweet are a permanent part of my memory bank and producing a perfectly flaky crust is to me the equivalent of nirvana. I am also drawn to all things French and when I found this cookbook at a bargain price, I knew that I would be sampling many of the recipes within.

I have posted one recipe from this book already. It was Salame di Cioccolata. Many of the recipes are sweet confections, but there is also a section on quiches. I was intrigued by the savory shortcrust pastry which has a ratio of butter to flour of 1/2 and also includes an egg. Also the pastry was done completely in a food processor. The quiche filling is similar to ones I have used before and I loved the idea of using mushrooms to enhance the flavor. The pastry was easy to handle and considering that I had to use it to line six small quiche pans, it was forgiving of the cutting, lifting, and patting into place. The finished quiches lifted easily from the pans and held their shape when placed on the serving plate. They were good, very good. The filling was savory and with the mushrooms, very earthy. I am still searching for the perfect crust though . . . the flakiness was not quite there.

I served the quiches over a simply dressed green salad. I love individual quiches and there are so many ways you can use them. They would make a perfect first course with dressed baby greens, for brunch with fruit and sweet rolls, for lunch on the run, or packed in a picnic basket with a chilled bottle of pinot grigio and chocolate truffles. Enough already. . . I am making myself hungry.

WILD MUSHROOM QUICHE – From Artisan Patisserie for the Home Baker by Danya Weiner

Savory Shortcrust Pastry:
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 Tbls cold water
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Place the butter and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process 2 minutes until thoroughly combined. Stop the processor and add the egg, water, and half the flour. Continue to process 2 minutes, until the dough is smooth and uniform. Stop the processor again, add the remaining flour, and continue to process 1 minute until a neat ball is formed. Remove the dough from the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour before using.

Basic Quiche Filling:
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Combine the eggs and heavy cream in a bowl and mix gently. Whisk in the salt and nutmeg till smooth. Use immediately or transfer to a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Wild Mushroom Quiche:
1 recipe Savory shortcrust Pastry
1 egg. beaten
1/2 cup butter ( I used only 3 Tablespoons)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups assorted wild mushrooms ( I used Shitakes)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
2 Tbls finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 recipe Basic Quiche Filling

1. Roll out the shortcrust pastry 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured work surface.
2. Divide the dough evenly among six 4-inch quiche pans, using your fingers to press the dough into place. Cut off any excess dough around the edges.
3. Place the pans in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
4. Cut out pieces of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pans. Place the paper over the chilled dough and weigh down with beans or commercial pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the weights and a paper, and brush the bottoms and sides with the egg. Bake for an additional 3 minutes. Transfer the pans to a work surface.
6. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute till softened.
7. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes. stirring often, until the mushrooms are softened and aromatic. Add the remaining butter ( 2 tablespoons) and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Now add the parsley and stir.
8. Drain the mushrooms and divide equally among the pans. Sprinkle the cheese and pour the prepared filling on top. Return the pans to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature and reheat before serving. Also good at room temperature.

Printable recipe

Pie crust has always been easy for me. I know many cooks claim to be intimidated by the prospect of making homemade pastry, but for some reason, I enjoy the mixing, rolling, trimming and crimping. It probably has alot to do with my Mother and Grandmother. I grew up in a small town in Michigan in the house where my Mother was born. My Grandmother lived with us and the two of them were always in the kitchen fixing comforting meals. When my brother and I were small, Grandma did a lot of the cooking, but over the years Mom took over most of it, with Grandma in the background offering encouraging comments like ” You aren’t going to have any potatoes left with the way you are peeling them”, or ” That pot roast is going to be dry if you don’t add more water.” But one thing they always agreed on was how to make pie crust. I have even inherited the measuring device they used for their Crisco. They never used butter in their pie crusts and I am sure that in her younger days my Grandmother probably used lard. So here is their recipe for pie crust if you would like to give it a try. For a 1 crust pie, use 1 cup of flour (with 1/4 tsp. salt), 1/2 cup Crisco cut into flour with a sharp knife until the shortening is the size of small peas, and then 1/4 cup milk stirred in. The ratio of 1, 1/2, 1/4 is easy to remember. A two crust pie would be 2,1,1/2. The dough is then rolled out on a heavily floured board. It is a very forgiving dough and can be rerolled without toughening it if you don’t get it right the first time. I have used this recipe for years, but have also discovered the flaky texture of pate brisee, the all butter alternative. And I have used some recipes that call for a mixture of both shortening and butter. But what I am sharing with you today is a pastry dough that I had never heard of before. It is made with olive oil.

In her book Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells talks of a version of tart that is made in Provence with the local olive oil. The dish she describes is made with Swiss Chard, but having made it before, I found it to be too heavy and unappealing. I did like the crust though, so I came up with my own filling and tweaked the ingredients slightly for the crust. The advantage of this crust is that, when mixed together, it has the consistency of a cookie dough and all you have to do is is pat it into the tart pan. It does not have the buttery flakiness of most pie crusts, but it is crisp and thin and best of all, simple.

SAVORY LEEK AND HAM TART

Pastry:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbls water

1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil

Filling:

4 leeks, green stems removed, washed well and chopped

2 Tbls. olive oil

1/2 cup diced ham

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
3 eggs, beaten

1 cup half and half or heavy cream
Dash of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. For the pastry, combine the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium size bowl. Stir in the water and then the oil, mixing until thoroughly blended. Knead briefly. The dough will be very moist, much like a cookie dough. Press the dough into a 10″ loose-bottomed metal tart tin.

Saute the leeks in the heated oil over medium low heat until limp. Add the ham and brown slightly. In a bowl combine the beaten eggs, cream and nutmeg. Place the leek mixture into the prepared tart tin. Top with grated cheese. Pour the egg mixture over all and place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Printable recipe

Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Wild Mushroom Mini Quiches

Savory Leek and Ham Tart