Witchin’ in the Kitchen at the Bubbling Cauldron

As the tart bakes, some of the beet juice will color the custard and the goat cheese, giving each slice a pretty, almost marbleized look. Since the flavors are a riff on the classic beet, walnut, and goat cheese salad, this tart pairs especially well with greens tossed with a bright vinaigrette. A small slice also makes a somewhat unusual but delicious side dish to grilled lamb chops.

FOR THE PASTRY
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and well chilled
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

FOR THE FILLING
2 to 3 small beets
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dry white wine
3 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon walnut oil (optional)
About 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

MAKE THE PASTRY
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Quickly cut the butter into the flour, using a pastry blender or your fingers, until the butter pieces are the size of large peas. (Alternatively, cut the butter into the flour by pulsing it 8 to 10 times in a food processor, being careful not to overheat and overmix the butter.)

2. Dump the mixture out onto a clean surface and make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the ice water into the well. Using just your fingertips and working quickly, combine the flour mixture and the water. Work just until the water is absorbed. The dough will be ragged but should hold together when you squeeze it. If it seems dry, sprinkle on a few more drops of water. Form the dough into a log shape about 8 inches long and parallel to the edge of your work surface. With the heel of your hand, push down and away from you all along the line of dough. With a pastry scraper, gather up the dough, shape it back into a log, and repeat the smearing action. This technique, known as fraisage, will form sheets of butter in the dough, creating a light crust almost like puff pastry, with the pastry scraper, gather the dough up into a ball; it’s fine if the dough does not come together completely at this time.

3. Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap, flatten it a bit, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least a half hour before rolling. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can also freeze the dough, well wrapped; allow it to defrost for a day in the refrigerator before using it.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough so it is slightly larger around than the 10-inch tart mold and about 1/8 inch thick. If your rolling yielded something unlike a circle, use a knife to trim the raggedy edges, but keep the size of the circle larger than the tart pan. Carefully lift the dough over the tart pan and allow it to fall into the pan, centering it fairly well. Gently ease the dough into where the sides of the pan meet the bottom. If necessary, lift the dough that’s hanging over the edge and bring some of the excess down into the pan to ensure that the dough is following the pan’s contours. Once the dough covers the entire bottom of the pan, fold the excess dough over into the pan to make thicker walls. Press the dough into the edges of the pan and build up the wall of dough slightly so that it’s a bit higher than the edge of the pan. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.

5. To blind-bake the tart crust heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line the mold with aluminum foil, and then fill the foil with baking weights, dried beans, or rice. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and continue to bake until the crust is well browned. Remove from the oven and let the crust cool a bit before assembling your tart.

MAKE THE FILLING
1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Wash the beets and dry them with a paper towel. Place the beets in a small ovenproof pan, drizzle them with the olive oil, and season with a little salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake until the beets are tender when pierced with a paring knife, about 1 hour. Allow the beets to cool. Peel the beets using a small knife and cut them into a medium dice. (Be careful, as beet juice can stain counters, towels, and even your hands; you may want to wear gloves for this step.)

2. Heat the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, season with a little salt, and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the onion is just tender, about 7 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for another minute, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

3. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Toss the beets and onion together and put them into the blind-baked tart shell. Whisk together the eggs and cream, season well with salt and pepper, and carefully pour over the beets and onion, letting the cream seep evenly into the beets. Dot the goat cheese all over the top of the tart. Put the tart on a baking sheet and bake it for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the tart and drizzle the walnut oil over it, if using. Return the tart to the oven and bake until just set, an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle the tart with the chopped parsley and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8 Makes 1 10-inch tart

by Gordon Hamersley with Joanne McAllister Smart
from Bistro Cooking At Home
(Broadway Books, 2003)

If I had time amidst party catering this weekend and next I’d treat myself to this. Maybe next month…

Goats Cheese Roulade with Leek and Walnut Filling

Serves 6 to 8

2oz/55g butter
2oz/55g plain flour
1 pint/570ml strained flavoured milk (see ingredients and method below)
2oz/55g grated Cheddar
6oz/170g soft goats cheese, rindless
extra pepper, if liked

grated nutmeg
4 large eggs, separated
For the filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 medium leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced thinly
chopped parsley
7oz/200g tub crème fraîche

3oz/85g walnuts, crushed and dry-roasted in a saucepan for several minutes (make sure to shake the pan)

a pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper

For the flavoured milk:
1 pint/570ml milk
1 onion, cut in half

1 bay leaf
1 stick of celery
a few peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon rock salt

To flavour the milk, put it in a saucepan with the onion, bay leaf, celery, peppercorns and rock salt and heat till a skin forms. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool completely, so that the milk has time to be infused with all the flavours. When it is quite cold, strain it and set aside.

Line a baking tray measuring about 10in x 12in (25cm x 30cm) with baking parchment, putting a dab of butter at each corner to hold the paper firmly in place. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Let this cook for a minute, before gradually adding the strained milk, stirring all the time - I find it best to use a wire whisk - until the sauce boils. Let it simmer gently for a moment, then take the pan off the heat and stir in the grated Cheddar and goats cheese. Season with pepper if you think it needs more, and nutmeg. Beat in the egg yolks, one by one.

Lastly, in a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites till they are very stiff and, with a large metal spoon, fold them quickly and thoroughly through the sauce. Pour and scrape this into the paper-lined tray and bake in a moderate oven, 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4, for 20 to 25 minutes, till the roulade feels firm to the touch and the surface is puffed up and golden. Remove from the oven, cover with a slightly dampened tea towel and leave to cool.

For the filling, measure the oil into a non-stick frying or sauté pan and cook the sliced leeks over a moderate heat, stirring, till they are very soft. Do try to slice them thinly - not only do they look and taste better, but they take a very short time to cook, about four to five minutes. Let the leeks cool.

Lay a sheet of baking parchment on a work surface or table. Scatter the chopped parsley over it. Take the short ends of paper in either hand and flip the roulade face down, as it were, on to the parsley. Peel the paper off the back of the roulade. Spread the crème fraîche over the surface, then scatter on the cooled nuts. Distribute the leeks over everything. I find a fork the easiest thing to use for this. Season with the merest pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Roll the roulade up away from you and slip it on to a serving plate. Leave it rolled up in its paper if you do this more than an hour in advance, so it retains a tight shape. Slip it off the paper before serving.

Source: unknown

source: unknown

Serves 6

2 tablespoons fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
3oz/85g butter
6 rashers of smoked back bacon, trimmed of most of its fat and diced quite finely
1 large clove of garlic, skinned and very finely chopped (optional)
3oz/85g self-raising flour
1 1/4 pints/710ml milk
8oz/225g Lancashire cheese or Cheddar, crumbled
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a grating of nutmeg
8 large eggs, separated
tomatoes, each skinned, cut in half and seeds removed, then cut in neat strips or chopped

Butter two same-sized soufflé dishes or similar ovenproof dishes, and dust them out with grated Parmesan cheese. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the diced bacon and the finely chopped garlic. Cook, stirring, for several minutes till the bacon is cooked through. Stir in the flour, then gradually add the milk, stirring continuously till the sauce boils.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the crumbled cheese, the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Beat in the yolks, one by one. Whisk the whites till they are very stiff and, with a large metal spoon, fold them and the chopped tomatoes quickly and thoroughly through the sauce.

Divide the soufflé mixture between the two prepared dishes and either cover them with clingfilm and bake later, or bake them straight away, in a hot oven, 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7, for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately.