Leek and Zucchini Tart

Gourmet chef, I am not.  But I feel so fancy when I pick up leeks and put them in my basket.  I know, there are certainly fancier ingredients out there like foie gras or black truffles, but leeks were what did it for me that day.  I knew I wanted to make a tart so I picked up some heavy cream and headed home.  I found a recipe via my love foodgawker that used a food processor to make the crust.  It seemed simple enough so I went with it.  My first tart and my first crust.  Exciting stuff.

Leek and Zucchini Tart  recipe adapted from Tiramisu’

Crust:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
6 ounces cold butter, cut in small cubes
1/2 cup ice cold water

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse on and off until the butter is the size of peas. Add the cold water with the machine running, then pulse on and off until the dough start to come together. Small pieces of butter should still be visible. Empty the dough on a floured surface and bring it together, do not over mix it. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. Roll the dough to a 1/8 thickness, line a tart shell and freeze for 20-30 minutes.
 

 
Filling:
 
2 medium leeks, sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
olive oil
parsley, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Slice and wash the leeks very well in cold water. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the leeks and cook until translucent (like you would with onions). Add the zucchini and cook on medium heat until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the parsley, and let cool. Mix the heavy cream with the eggs, add the cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Mix the cream mixture with the cooled vegetables and pour onto prepared tart shell. Prebake your crust on 425 degrees for 10-20 minutes.  Allow to cool on wire rack.  Fill with vegetable mixture and bake at 350 until set, about 40 minutes.

The original recipe calls to bake the tart in a 375 degree oven until the crust browns.  After doing some research (and after I technically messed up my tart) I found it’s best to prebake or “bake blind” as Luna Cafe calls it, the crust first.  I found A LOT of helpful tips over at Luna Cafe that I will follow for my next tart.  My 10 inch tart came out very loose and I thought it may be from of the moisture from the zucchini, but Susan wrote “DO NOT heat the eggs past the point that they are no longer capable of holding the liquid in suspension.”  Which is what happened to me because I was still waiting for my crust to brown.  Seriously, that Susan, she’s a tart expert. 

I baked some mini tarts just to test them out before committing to the large one.  Preheated my toaster oven to 350 and popped them in for about 10 minutes or so. Honestly not sure exactly how long as I was kind of busy with other things.  Just check for a browned crust. It happens pretty quickly. These were awesome! I would love to make these mini tarts for a brunch I hope on hosting soon. The size was just right, the texture was great (too bad I couldn’t say that about the main one), and the flavor was amazing.  Those leeks, so fancy.  After Jenin took a bite I asked her about the taste. She told me that they are “the best-ever-licious!”  

 
The 10 inch, at night (sorry).