Name: Leek tart
Prep time: 2 h 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Total time: 3 h 50 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 230 g all-purpose flour (1 ⅔ cups); 1 tsp fine sea salt; 55 g cold butter, cubed (½ stick); 55 g cold lard*, cubed (¼ cup – 2oz); 50 ml cold water (3 tbsp); 480 ml whole milk (2 cups); 55 g butter, cubed (½ stick); 50 g all-purpose flour (⅓ cup); 1 tsp fine sea salt; ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground; 85 g grated Swiss cheese (¾ cup); 15 g butter (1 tbsp); 1 kg leeks (2 pounds), about 3 big leeks; 140 g diced ham (5 oz)

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This leek tart is creamy, cheesy, and really rich. When you are craving something warm and comforting on cold days, this is the tart for you. The crust is flaky and buttery but the addition of lard really takes it to another extra-savory-melt-in-your-mouth level!

The béchamel-based filling is luscious, and the pieces of salty ham perfectly complement the sweetness of the tender leeks. I usually don’t praise my recipes too much, but this is a damn good leek tart.

Not a quiche

If you’re looking for a quiche recipe, this is not the recipe for you because this leek tart is simply not a quiche. Controversial opinion ahead: I freaking hate quiches. I hate the texture of eggs and cream baked together to act as a binder for whatever the quiche is flavored with. God forbid any ingredient in the filling releases water and makes the savory custard of the quiche split and the texture even weirder.
I also hate flan-based desserts, and every summer, I had to sit there and eat my grandma’s cherry clafoutis and pretend I was enjoying it. I could never work up the courage to tell her I found the flabby, eggy, jiggly texture absolutely revolting.
Everyone seems to looooove quiches. Here’s a salmon quiche, what about an asparagus one, what would brunch be without a quiche, blah blah blah… But I know someone out there must loathe that eggy texture as much as I do! Anyway, I’m glad I got it out of my system, so thanks for indulging my rant.

Here’s my answer to leek quiches: a deliciously creamy leek tart made with bechamel sauce as a binder. I’ve honestly converted every person who has tasted this leek tart. It’s creamy instead of eggy, and the cheese combines with the unctuous savory sauce much more beautifully. Sure, it takes a bit more time to make a bechamel sauce than a quiche batter, but it tastes so much better! You’ll be licking your pan and wooden spoon, and I’m sure you never did that with quiche batter.

Lard in the crust

Lard brings on a delicious, mild pork flavor to the crust, which goes really well with the diced ham. It also makes for a crumblier and more tender tart crust.
I use a 50:50 split of butter and lard because, as much as I enjoy the flavor and texture of a crust made entirely with lard, I don’t find it sturdy enough to hold the rich filling of this leek tart. I’ve made this tart before, using only lard as the fat in the crust. I wouldn’t call it a mess, but it definitely struggled to support the weight of the filling. With a 50:50 split, you get the taste, the flakes, the tenderness, and the ability to actually hold a slice of tart in your hands without the whole thing crumbling down.

Step by step

Okay, bear with me; there are a few steps, BUT it’s all worth it for a meltingly tender and creamy leek tart.

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. The ingredient list and full instructions are in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Make the dough

Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and lard. Rub them in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles uneven breadcrumbs. Add most of the water and stir to incorporate all the flour. Add the remaining water if needed. When the dough sticks together, press it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 45 min.

Step 2: Make the filling

Heat the milk until a few bubbles start to appear. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan. Add the flour to the butter and cook for 2 min, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the milk. Cook the bechamel sauce over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. Stir in most of the cheese. Slice the leeks into quarter moons. Melt butter over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Add the leeks and cook them, covered, for 10 min. Stir in the bechamel sauce and ham.

Step 3: Prepare the crust

Roll out the dough into a circle slightly bigger than the pan. Fold the dough in half and fold it again. Brush off any excess flour. Line the pan with the dough by unfolding it in the pan. Leave a little excess dough hanging over the edge. Fold the excess pastry over into the pan to make double-thick walls. Press the dough along the sides to create indents. Prick the base with a fork (I forgot to do that when I took the photos 😅). Chill for 20 min. Cover the dough with parchment paper. Fill the pan with pie weights.

Step 4: Blind bake the crust and bake the tart

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Bake the crust for 15 min. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Return the crust to the oven and continue baking for 10 min. Scrape the filling into the blind-baked crust. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over it. Bake the leek tart for 25 to 30 min.

Make components in advance

I’m not going to lie: making a leek tart from scratch is not a quick, improvised dinner kind of deal. The steps are easy to follow, but they are time-consuming. If it works better for you, you can spread things out a bit and make the filling or the dough in advance.

⇨ Filling: Once it has cooled down to room temperature, scrape the leek and bechamel sauce mixture into an airtight container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the filling (to avoid a skin forming on top), and put the lid on. You can keep the filling in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking the tart.

⇨ Dough: Make the savory tart dough in advance and store it in the fridge, tightly covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days before baking the tart. However, remember to take it out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature before you roll it out, because it will be rock solid.

⚠️ If you are really short on time, skip the tart dough altogether and use a ready-to-bake pie crust! There is no shame in it; everyone does it! French supermarkets have aisles dedicated to ready-to-bake pie crusts, puff pastry, filo pastry, pizza crusts, etc., despite all of our food principles. Yeah, it tastes less good, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to make life work!

Vegetarian version

If you want to make this leek tart vegetarian, you will need to:

replace the lard with an equal amount of butter. So, use 110g of butter in total for the savory tart dough (the whole stick if you’re American) instead of 55g.
replace the diced ham with an equal amount of something equally salty to counterbalance the sweetness of cooked leeks. I would suggest some crumbled feta or diced halloumi.

When making the leek tart for dinner, I serve it with a leafy green salad drizzled with a sharp vinaigrette. If I make the leek tart for brunch, I usually cut thinner slices because there are other things to eat, and a small slice goes a long way. It is a rich tart.

Leek tart

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Author: Amélie
Prep Time: 1 hour
resting: 1 hour 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 slices 1x
Category: Main course
Method: Oven
Cuisine: French

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Description

This leek tart is creamy, cheesy, and rich. The crust is flaky and buttery, and the addition of lard takes it to another melt-in-your-mouth savory level! Pieces of salty ham are scattered throughout the luscious bechamel sauce to complement the natural sweetness of tender leeks.

Ingredients

Scale

For the savory tart dough:

230 g all-purpose flour (1 ⅔ cups)
1 tsp fine sea salt
55 g cold butter, cubed (½ stick)
55 g cold lard*, cubed (¼ cup – 2oz)
50 ml cold water (3 tbsp)

For the bechamel sauce:

480 ml whole milk (2 cups)
55 g butter, cubed (½ stick)
50 g all-purpose flour (⅓ cup)
1 tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
85 g grated Swiss cheese (¾ cup)

For the filling:

15 g butter (1 tbsp)
1 kg leeks (2 pounds), about 3 big leeks
140 g diced ham (5 oz)

Instructions

Make the savory tart dough. Place the flour in a mixing bowl and whisk in the salt. Add the cubed butter and lard and rub them in lightly with your fingertips until the mixture resembles big, mostly even, breadcrumbs. It might take up to 5 min to get this result. Add most of the water and stir with your fingertips, trying to gather all the flour left in the mixing bowl. Add the rest of the water, and more if necessary (1 tsp at a time), and stir again until there is no more flour left in the mixing bowl. When the dough mostly sticks together, gently press it into a smooth ball. Flatten the ball slightly into a disk. Wrap the savory tart dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 45 min. It’s an important step, so don’t skip the resting stage! Butter a 25cm (10 in) tart pan and set it aside.
Make the bechamel sauce. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat just until a few bubbles start to appear on the surface. Then remove the saucepan from the heat. Melt the butter in a separate heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 2 min, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and slowly add the hot milk a little at a time, whisking continuously to stop lumps from forming. When all the milk has been incorporated, season with salt and black pepper. Then place the bechamel sauce over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened nicely, about 5 min. The sauce is usually ready by the time bubbles appear on the surface. Stir in most of the grated cheese, and reserve a small handful that you will sprinkle over the tart. Cover the pan with a lid and set aside.
Roll out the dough. Once the dough has rested for 45 min, remove it from the fridge. Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a round slightly bigger than the pan. It should be pretty thin, about 3mm (⅒ in) thick. If the dough becomes soft and sticky as you roll, sprinkle a bit more flour under the dough and on the rolling pin.
Line the pan with the dough. Fold the dough in half and then fold it one more time. Pick it up and brush off any excess flour. Line the pan with the rolled dough by placing it in the pan and unfolding it. Don’t worry if it tears while transporting it from the working surface to the pan. Just press it back together with your fingers, and it’ll go totally unnoticed. Ease the dough across the bottom and sides of the pan with your fingers. Leave a little excess dough hanging over the edge. If you have more than 5 cm (2 in) of dough in places hanging over the edge of the pan, delicately tear off some of it, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. You might need it later to patch up the tart crust if there is a small hole or a crack. Fold the excess pastry over into the pan to make double-thick walls. Press the dough along the seam and fluted sides of the pan with your index fingers side by side to create indents. Prick the base of the tart case a dozen times with a fork.
Blind-bake the tart crust. Place the pan in the freezer (or the fridge if you don’t have a freezer) for 20 min. Cold dough is less likely to shrink while baking. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F). Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper big enough to cover the dough entirely, even the top edges of the sides. Fill the pan with pie weights or dried beans/lentils/rice. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet (it’ll be easier to handle than the hot tart pan). Bake the crust for 15 min. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Patch any cracks or holes with the reserved dough. Return the tart crust to the oven and continue baking for 10 min. By then, the bottom of the crust should be golden and dry to the touch.
Finish the filling while the crust is blind baking. Cut off the leeks’ roots and the tough green tops, and peel off their first layers. Discard them. Wash the leeks under running water and try to remove any grit you see with your fingers. Slice the leeks in half lengthwise. Place the halves cut side down and slice them in half lengthwise again. Then cut the leeks into thin slices. You’re basically cutting the leeks into ‘quarter’ moons instead of half-moons. Melt the butter over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Add the chopped leeks, stir them around with a wooden spoon to cover them in butter, and cover the pan with a lid. Cook the leeks until completely tender, about 10 min, stirring occasionally to make sure the leeks don’t catch on the bottom. Pour the bechamel sauce into the frying pan and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. Stir in the diced ham. Taste the filling and adjust the seasoning accordingly with a bit more salt or black pepper if necessary.
Bake the leek tart. Scrape the filling into the blind-baked crust. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over it. Bake the leek tart for 25 to 30 min. The edges of the crust should be golden brown. Slide the pan onto a wire rack and cool for 20 min. Serve or wait until the leek tart has cooled down to room temperature.

Notes

* If you don’t want to use lard, you can replace it with an equal amount of butter. Use 110 g of butter in total for the savory tart dough (the whole stick if you’re American).

The leek tart will keep, wrapped airtight, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The bottom of the tart will get softer over time, though.

I actually prefer the leek tart fridge-cold but that’s just me. To reheat slices, preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and place the slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Heat in the oven until warmed through, about 10 to 15 min. Cover with aluminum foil if the top of the slices is over-browning.