I refer to Patricia Wells’ Flamiche aux Poireaux and my variation on it in the Leek & Bacon Clafoutis recipe but I’ve never actually posted the leek tart recipe itself.
I use “Pi Day” as an excuse to bring on all the pies. I decided to make homemade pizza (pie) for dinner tomorrow followed by raspberry tarts and then I figured as I had pie crust in the freezer I might as well whip up some leek and bacon tarts for everyone for their lunches. That made as good an opportunity as any to post my variation on Wells. The main differences are that I take the cheese out of it because I don’t like it and I use bacon instead of Parma ham because I prefer it. I also feel that leek and bacon are a magical combination.
To make vegetarian, simply omit the bacon.
Upon making this recipe again, I have realized that it is more helpful to me to think about it in ratio terms for how much filling I need per tart. I also discovered that 50g per tart shell is enough dough for an individual tart, which means that I can actually get a whopping 14 tarts out of one batch of Never-Fail Pie Crust. I have adjusted the ingredients according to my new calculations. This works out to roughly 1/2 to 1 slice bacon, 1 egg, 1 TBSP yogurt, crème fraîche or heavy cream and maybe 2 TBSP onion or leek per tart. If you know you have shells enough for 10, multiply all this by 10, if you only have 4, multiply by 4 etc. This last time I used a mix of onion and leek but you can use either one alone or whatever you prefer. If you like garlic scapes, you could use those. It’s all about your taste.
INGREDIENTS for 14 tarts at 50g dough each
1 pie crust of your choice such as Never-Fail Pie Crust or if you want to be authentic pâte brisée
- Prepare your pie dough. Divide dough into 4 equal parts if you intend to make one big tart. You will use one for this recipe and you can freeze the rest. For individual tarts, divide the dough into as many 50g pieces as you can. Roll them into balls and then slightly flatten and chill before rolling as in the Never-Fail Pie Crust instructions. Once you’ve chilled and then rolled out the dough and distributed it among your tart pan(s), put it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up while you make the filling. I like to put my individual tart pans on a baking tray
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the bacon. Cook until the fat is rendered and it’s your preferred level of crispness
- Add the butter and the leeks/onions and sauté over medium heat until the leeks are very soft. You could probably omit the butter altogether and just use olive oil but there is something really luxurious about leeks/onions sautéed in butter
- Grate in a lot of nutmeg to your taste
- Once the mixture is soft and smells gorgeous, set aside to cool slightly
- Beat the eggs and yogurt together in a medium bowl and stir in the cooled leek and bacon mixture. Add salt and pepper or more nutmeg to taste. It’s also ok to keep the solids and the liquids apart and instead portion out the leek/onion/bacon mixture among your tart shells and then pour on the egg mixture, trying to make everything roughly even. That’s how I’ve been doing it lately
- Remove the frozen tart shell(s) from the freezer and distribute the mixture evenly among the crusts. If you end up with too much mixture, just spray a little nonstick spray in a glass bowl (like those Pyrex prep bowls) or some other heatproof vessel and bake alongside your tarts—it may cook quicker
- Bake for 20 minutes and then check for doneness. The top will be golden brown and slightly puffed and the crust will be browned
- Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes or so and remove the tarts from the pan and continue to cool
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