Five years ago in April, Jason and I met friends out in Colorado to go skiing.
It was 70 degrees at the bottom of the mountain, and needless to say there weren’t a whole lot of good runs. Once we found one with enough snow on it, we did it over and over and over again. Then it was lunch time. At the bottom of a blue—the flat part—I turned around to make sure Jason saw where I was going and then BOOM. I nicked something with my left ski, went flying in all directions, and tore my ACL.
It was not a pretty fall and I definitely tried to play it off like nothing was wrong, but that was the end of my skiing passes and two to three trips a year out to Colorado. I had surgery—two of them—learned to cross country ski, and now finally—FINALLY—we’re headed out west again.
None of this has anything to do with this potato, leek, and goat cheese tart but I’m telling you anyways because I’m about to go skiing in Park City and trying to keep my mind off of that awful injury. At this point, I feel more mentally blocked than physically, so instead, I choose to ignore my feelings and talk about how much I love puff pastry for dinner.
I especially love this combination of goat cheese, potatoes, and leeks—it’s a classic—served up on top of the buttery dough.
You can make this tart as the entree for 4-6 or make little tartlets as an appetizer. It’s really lovely warm, but can stay at room temperature and is still delicious. In case I get scared at the top of the ski lift, I’ll just be channeling this tart for comfort.
- ½ pound packaged frozen puff pastry, (usually one sheet), defrosted
- 1 egg, whisked
- 5 oz goat cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 small leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt
- 1 medium yukon gold potato, sliced thinly on mandolin
- 3-4 thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Lightly roll out puff pastry on parchment to smooth out creases. Transfer dough with parchment paper to a baking sheet. Using a knife, lightly score a 1" border around the dough and prick a couple times in the center with form. Brush with egg wash and bake until golden and slightly puffed, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, mix goat cheese and cream. Set aside.
- Next, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized sauce skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook until they soften. Season with salt, and stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
- When puff pastry is done, let cool slightly. If it puffs up too much, prick with a fork to deflate. Spread goat cheese mixture evenly within the 1 inch border. Next, pull leaves off of 2 sprigs of thyme and sprinkle on top. Place potato slices, 1-2 layers deep, on top of goat cheese, drizzling with olive oil and salt in between if doing 2 layers. Top with leeks and black pepper.
- Bake until pastry is golden brown and baked through, about 18-20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Sprinkle remaining thyme on top before serving.
[…] Potato, Leek & Goat Cheese Tart // Potatoes, Leeks, Sub Shallots for garlic, Thyme (or Sage) […]
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