Mushroom & Leek Tart

Original Recipe HERE

This took a bit more time to make than I'd anticipated (probably mostly due to two particularly clingy, attention-seeking little ones that night), but it was worth the work.  I'm sure you could use a store-bought crust to make life easier, but the one included in the recipe was much better than anything Pillsbury offers.

Ingredients

* For the crust:

1 cup flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

7 Tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

* For the filling:

3 Tablespoons butter

3 leeks, white and very light green parts halved, cleaned, and thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound chanterelles [or any other mushrooms; I used baby bella] cut into about 1-in. pieces

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves *OR* 1 teaspoon dried [I used dried]

3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup grated gruyère cheese

Directions

* To make crust:

(1) Cut butter into small cubes and place in freezer for 20 minutes.

(2) In medium bowl *OR* bowl of food processor, combine flour, salt, and pepper.

(3) Rub butter into flour until it resembles cornmeal but some larger, pea-size pieces remain *OR* pulse butter into flour until coarse, cornmeal-textured mixture forms.

(4) Drizzle 3 Tablespoons ice-cold water into dough while stirring quickly with a fork *OR* drizzle ice water into food processor (while running) until dough comes together.

(5) Turn dough onto large piece of plastic wrap.  Fold wrap over dough; press into 1"-thick disk.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
(6) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

(7) Lightly flour work surface. Unwrap dough.  Using rolling pin, gently roll it (turning dough 90 degrees between each roll) into 12" circle.

(8) Place rolled-out dough into 9 1/2" tart pan. Trim edges flush with pan edges.

(9) Cover dough with large piece of aluminum foil.  Weigh foil down with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice.

(10) Bake crust 20 minutes. Lift foil and weights off crust and bake until beginning to turn golden, about 10 additional minutes. Let crust cool to room temperature if possible.

* To make filling:

(1) While crust bakes, melt butter in large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add leeks and salt.  Cook, stirring, until leeks are soft, about 3 minutes.

(2) Turn heat to high.  Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms have given off their liquid, 5 to 10 minutes.

(3) Stir in thyme, cream, and pepper.  Turn off heat and let cool to room temperature.

* To bake tart:

(1) Spread half of grated cheese over tart crust. Spread leek-mushroom mixture on top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

(2) Cover loosely wiht foil to prevent severe browning of crust.  Bake until cheese is melted and golden, about 25 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes: Maybe I should experiment and find the best store-bought crust available, just for the sake of this being a quicker-to-prepare weeknight meal.  Other cheeses could also be substituted.

Kid Participation: None...this was something better left to Mom.