Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Friday Meetings: Leek and Gruyère Tart

Just about every Friday I make food for about a dozen guys in what I'm pretty certain is a clever team-building scheme for their company. These guys are the best guinea pigs in town, and I try out all sorts of appetizers, finger foods and generally party-friendly concoctions with them as diligent taste-testers.

I really want to blog about the results and share with you some of the better recipes, but you will have to understand one thing: I pretty much never get a picture of this food! I start shopping and prep in the afternoon on Friday, and even hen I think I'm on track for delivery it always ends up being 3:50 p.m. and I am just scooting out the door. To see what these recipes look like, you will have to try them yourself!

First up, leek and Gruyère tart. The basic recipe is below, and the quantity makes two large tarts which I then slice, pizza style. You can easily halve it for smaller groups, but in my experience when I open a box of frozen puff pastry I may as well use it all! I baked the two tarts simultaneously, but you could easily prep them both then pop one in the oven while the other is being devoured by your guests.

Leek and Gruyère Tart

Handful AP flour
1 box frozen puffy pastry
olive oil
6 leeks, white and pale green halved and thinly sliced crosswise
2 tsp thyme, chopped
1 lb Gruyère, shredded
6 oz bacon
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 475 F

1) Roll out the slightly thawed pastry dough to two large rounds (13"-14") folding the corners to a pretty finish. Place on baking sheets and pop in the frig.

2) In a large skillet, lay out the bacon and cook 'til just done, but not wholly crisped. Remove and break into large pieces.

2) In the same skillet add a few glugs of olive oil if there isn't much bacon fat (or if you prefer to pour off the bacon fat, do that and add olive oil). Add the leeks, thyme and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, letting the leeks soften (5 minutes).

3) Remove the pastry from the frig and sprinkle on the cheese. Top with the leeks and bacon then sprinkle on some salt and pepper.

4) Bake until golden, about 20-30 minutes. Slice and serve!

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