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. Remove the frying pan from the heat. 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 170°C (340°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.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 big slice
Calories: 645