Make Matt Preston’s Leek Tarte Tatin
Matt Preston has a bit of a thing for leeks – his heart succumbs to their squeaky sweetness and the way they hold together in tight juicy rings even when cooked. Highlighting the leek’s simple virtues with creamy goats curd, flakes of salt and pops of thyme, Matt Preston’s recipe for Leek Tarte Tatin can be served fresh with a crunchy salad of iceberg lettuce, cucumber and apple, and a drizzle of lemon juice to contrast the buttery richness of the tart.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
6 large leeks
60 g butter
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 sheet butter puff pastry
100 g fresh soft goats curd or good fetta
A few sprigs of thyme and/or tarragon, leaves picked
Flake salt and cracked black pepper
TO MAKE
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
To prepare the leeks, trim the outer layers and clean off any dirt. Cut crosswise into equal stubby lengths of about 3 cm. Make sure the leeks stay in their rounds.
Take a 22 cm metal-handled frying pan, place on the heat and melt 40 g of the butter with the water. Stand the leeks upright in the pan (cut face down) and pack them closely together so they support each other. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. There’s no need to turn the leeks.
Meanwhile, warm the rest of the butter with the caster sugar in another pan. When combined and hot, pour this around the outer edges of the leeks in the other pan.
Cut a large circle out of the puff pastry. This needs to be big enough so it falls like a blanket over the leeks and down their sides to the base of the pan. Ensuring you keep the leeks tightly pushed together, push the pastry down the sides of the leeks.
Pierce the pastry to let steam escape and pop the pan in the oven. Cook for 15–20 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked (keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn). The sugar caramelises the pan-side of the leeks and the puff pastry swells up to embrace the leeks.
Take the pan out of the oven when the pastry is puffed up, golden and cooked through. Give the pan a slight shake to help loosen the tart from the pan. When you turn the tart out onto a plate, it should come away neatly from the pan. Place a plate over the pan and, with one hand firmly under the plate, flip the plate and pan over in one crisp, confident motion. The toasty, golden top side of the pastry will now be on the plate and you’ll be confronted by a forest of leek stumps.
If all the leeks don’t come out, don’t worry. Using tongs, lift the leeks out and replace on the pastry, caramel side upwards. No-one will know once herbs and goats curd are sprinkled on.
Now dollop the goats curd in spots over the face of the tart and sprinkle on the herbs.
Add a little flake salt and a grind of black pepper, and the tart can be taken to the table and cut into quarters to serve.
Recipe and image from Matt Preston’s 100 Best Recipes, published by Plum for Pan Macmillan.
The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Brisbane dining guide with more than 2400 places to eat, drink, shop and play.