← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 200 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 pinch Salt
• 100 g cold butter, diced
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp ice-cold water
• 700 g leeks (white and pale green parts), thinly sliced and washed
• 30 g Butter
• 3 Eggs
• 200 ml Crème fraîche
• 80 g Gruyère or Comté, grated
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Rub the flour, salt and butter together until it looks like breadcrumbs, then mix in the yolk and enough cold water to form a dough. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 min.
2. Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat, add the leeks and a pinch of salt, cover and cook for 15 min, stirring now and then, until very soft but not browned. Uncover and cook for 5 min more to drive off any liquid, then cool.
3. Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, 375°F). Roll out the pastry and line a 23 cm tart tin. Prick the base, line with baking paper and baking beans and bake for 15 min, then remove the paper and beans and bake for 5 min more until pale golden.
4. Lower the oven to 170°C (150°C fan, 340°F). Whisk the eggs, crème fraîche, nutmeg and most of the cheese with salt and pepper, then stir in the leeks.
5. Spread the filling in the pastry case, scatter over the rest of the cheese and bake for 25–30 min, until puffed, golden and just set with a slight wobble in the centre. Cool for 10 min before slicing.

Tips

• Leeks hide grit between their layers: slice first, then swish in a bowl of cold water and lift out.
• For strict vegetarians, choose a cheese made without animal rennet.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food BBC Good Food