Forestry

Tarts are definitely one of my favorite dishes. They are just so versatile! And they marry two of my biggest food loves: doughs and veggies, oh and cheese, so that makes 3.

So when I heard this moth´s Waiter, there´s something in my… was going to be about topless tarts, I was good to go, since it gave me the perfect excuse to try a brioche-like tart dough I had seen on tv and use up some broccoli I had in the fridge.

Now, this dough is just awesome, but it has quite a bit of butter for a savory tart dough, so it´s something for a special occasion, like movie nights with the girls (a weekly get together with some of my friends I was hosting last week, the link is the blog Sole put together with the movies we see, reviews and such.) It´s way easier to disregard a bit of butter when you are chitchatting! I also made an addicting peach cake with cardamom, but more on that later.

As for this tart, I loved it, all of it, the tender yet crunchy dough and the broccoli-rosemary-cheese filling I invented. Plus, it looked adorable, kinda like a little forest.

So I hope you give it a try, either to the whole thing or to one of the components. And check out the roundup of Waiter… next week to get tons of ideas of what to do with a bit of dough and some filling.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! (but check back soon because I´ll be posting something tomorrow and we have the Daring Bakers challenge on Monday).

 

Broccoli quiche (by Marcela O.)

Yields 1 big (10×13) rectangular pan, and possibly 2 regular round pans

Brioche-like tart crust (adapted and translated from a recipe by Narda Lepes)

Sugar, 2 teaspoons

All-purpose flour, 500 grams (about 1 pound) + 1 teaspoon

Eggs, 4

Fresh yeast, 25 grams (or about 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)

Unsalted butter, at room temperature, 150 grams (1 1/4 sticks)

Salt, 3/4 tablespoon

1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water, add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of flour. Let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

2. Place the flour with the salt in a big bowl and make a hole in the middle. Add the other teaspoon of sugar, the dissolved yeast, the butter, and the eggs.

3. Mix the ingredients by hand (I recommend doing this first stage in the bowl using just one hand and grabbing the bowl with the other so it doesn´t get too messy just yet.) Transfer to a floured counter and knead for a few minutes. Let it rise, covered, in a warm environment until it doubles its size.

4. If making a huge rectangular tart like myself, just roll it out and place it in the pan. If making a regular round pan, you can either make 2 tarts or just 1 but covered, so you need to cut the dough into two, roll it out and cover the pan(s).

Prick the dough with a fork lightly and fill the tart with the chosen filling (broccoli filling below.) Bake in a 340°F/170°C oven for about 30-35 minutes.

 

Broccoli filling (invented by yours truly)

2 heads of broccoli

4 eggs

1 cup of milk

1 big red onion or 2 medium ones

3 garlic cloves

1 leek

salt

pepper

rosemary (I used about 3/4 tablespoon dried rosemary)

mozarella, 1 cup (or any other melty cheese you like), cut into small squares

shredded parmesan cheese, about 1 tablespoon (I used a potato peeler to do the job)

1. Steam or boil the broccoli (cut the stems off and steam/boil them alongside, but a little longer, you need to wait for them to get very tender because we are going to make a puree).

2. Remove the broccoli flowers from the heat when they are tender, and put them in a cold water bath to stop them from cooking any further. Reserve them for later.

3. Remove the stems when they are tender and put them in a bowl (or food processor if you don´t have an immersion blender). Add 1/2 cup of milk, 2 eggs, some salt, pepper, a bit of the rosemary, and blend everything together.

4. Saute the chopped onion with some salt (1 or 2 teaspoons) on high heat for 3 minutes or so. Add the chopped leek and cook for another minute, add the chopped garlic and the rest of the rosemary, and cook for the last minute. Let this cool for a minute or two and then mix it with the broccoli stem-egg mixture we did on step 3.

5. Pour this over the dough (above), add the squares of cheese, the broccoli flowers on top looking up.

6. Use a small bowl to whisk together with a fork 2 eggs and the half cup of milk that was missing from the total amount. Add a touch of salt and pepper and pour this over the broccoli.

7. Using a potato peeler, grab a piece of parmesan cheese and grate it over the tart.

8. Bake in a 340°F oven (about 170°C) for 30-35 minutes.