Tarte Saint-Germain - with Grant K Gibson

For my first ever Carried-Away Guest Spot, I turned to a dear friend of mine, (and fellow blogger: http://www.grantkgibson.blogspot.com/), designer Grant K Gibson - because he is always in his kitchen cooking up a storm, AND I knew we both grew up with The Silver Palate Cookbook (1979). Oh, and I knew he’d fix me a cocktail and do most of the cooking himself, so how could I loose?

Part One: Dinner.

I actually suggested we skip dinner entirely and simply have cake and cocktails, but after we tasted, and each ate not one but TWO huge slices of this concoction, I was glad Grant insisted we start with the Tarte Saint-Germain. “The lowly leek is the star in this glamorous tart,” advise the authors, and I am with them in spirit, because the treatment really is a win for leeks, but don’t be fooled: there are FOUR Tablespoons of butter working here, too!

Grant had already made the shell, so really, all I had to do was help stir a bit, leaving the other hand free to photograph our efforts in Grant’s chic black-and-white kitchen. And once the leek mixture was cooked, it just got dumped into the shell and baked – couldn’t be easier. No wonder quiche became such a “thing” in the 80s, though “Real Men” everywhere (like my father) swore they wouldn’t eat it. Neither of us was concerned about that, so Grant and I gobbled it up. We did, however, save room for dessert…



Tarte Saint-Germain

4 Tbsp sweet butter
6 leeks, trimmed, well washed and thinly sliced
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup light cream
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 9-inch shell of Pate Brisee, partially baked
½ cup grated Gruyere cheese

1. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add sliced leeks and cook, covered, over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until leeks are tender and lightly colored. Stir frequently or leeks may scorch. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
2. Whisk eggs, yolks, and light and heavy cream together in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a grating of nutmeg, if you like.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
4. Spoon cooled leek mixture into partially baked tart shell. Add cream and egg mixture to fill the tart to within ½ inch of the top. Sprinkle the Gruyere evenly over the tart.
5. Set the tart on the middle level of the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is well browned and filling is completely set.
6. Cool for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm.