A scrumptious tart

A year or so ago, we went to this french restaurant called Lilly's, it's a great place for dinner.  They had this lovely Flamiche Chevre et Poireaux which is a goat cheese & leek tart and I knew after my first bite I had to find a recipe for it, because it's unbelievable.  After much searching around I did find the recipe. How can something with leeks, cream and goat cheese be bad...no way.  I've made this many times and it always come out great.  It's very easy too.

I have only used leeks for this recipe.  They are really good, but I don't know any other recipes that call for leeks.  You really have to wash them well though, since they grow in the ground and have many layers (looser layers than an onion) they seem to be pretty dirty.  I usually rinse them and then them chop them and put them in a colander and rinse them again.

I also love puff pastry.  There are so many things you can make with this lovely stuff!  My oven cooks very fast though.  I actually have a 1939 vintage range....and it's electric.  Seriously.  I cook so much and love to bake and it sometimes is very difficult without gas burners, with electric you get hot, hotter or hottest.  I think it's made me a better cook, but I can't wait until I get my Lacanche cuisiniere, I dream about the day when I get mine!  I'll probably be living in france, but hopefully that's not too far off.  We keep thinking about getting a nice commercial range here, but it would be very expensive, not just for the range, but to run a gas line from the back of our property all the way to the kitchen....we don't have a gas line into the kitchen and our water heater won't take the btu's.  So, I do my best with my old "girl"...she's got 4 electric burners, 2 stoves,she's an old workhorse and I've been cooking on her for 7 years and never had a problem (except for burning butter, garlic or oil when I'm not paying attention). 

OK, back to the tart.  I highly recommend this beauty, I also highly recommend the restaurant and if you are ever in Los Angeles or live here, try it...you'll love it.  If you make the tart, let me know how you like it.  Here's the recipe.

Flamiche Chevre et Poireaux

ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup whipping cream

1 5.2-ounce package soft herb cheese (such as Boursin), room temperature
1 3.5-ounce package soft fresh goat cheese, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 large eggs

2 tablespoons plain dried breadcrumbs

preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Line 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom with pastry, cutting off excess at edge. Using fork, pierce dough all over. Freeze pastry 5 minutes. Cover pastry with aluminum foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake pastry 15 minutes. Remove weights and foil. Bake crust until golden, about 5 minutes longer. Cool completely on rack. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced leeks and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add whipping cream and simmer until leek mixture is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Let mixture cool.

Using wooden spoon, beat herb cheese, goat cheese, and cream cheese in large bowl until well blended. Stir in leek mixture, then lemon juice and thyme. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in eggs 1 at a time, blending well after each addition.

Spread half of filling over bottom of crust. Bake tart until filling is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to platter. Let tart cool to room temperature. Cut tart into wedges and serve.

ENJOY.