Kelly Rossiter
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For over 20 years Toronto's star chef Jamie Kennedy has been in the forefront of the movement toward eating local foods in season. Long before it was fashionable, the menu in his restaurant reflected exactly what was in season in Ontario that week.In Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar an entire wall of the restaurant is covered with jars of gorgeous preserves that he and his staff can for use during the winter months.
When my daughter saw our buddy Seth at the new farmers' market by our house she bought what may be the last of the wild leeks (ramps) for this season. It seemed like a reason to make something special, so I reached for Jamie's cookbook Seasons to search for a suitable recipe. The Wild Leek Tartlet fit the bill. Unlike many of his recipes from this book, it didn't look too hard or too expensive to make. It was in fact, delicious, except for one thing. He doesn't cook the leeks. There was this beautiful custardy tart with a crunch of leek that just didn't work for me. We all decided that it would have been a spectacular dish if the leeks had been sauteed first. If you still have wild leeks available in your area, this is definitely a recipe to try, just cook the leeks. I don't have individual tart shells, so I baked it in a larger shell that made enough for six. Jamie isn't big on giving cooking times in his book, so I've suggested 20-30 minutes.
Wild Leek Tart
1 recipe pie pastry (see link for recipe here)
12 wild leeks, whole, washed
1 tbsp butter
3 eggs
1 cup 10% cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll out the pie dough to an 1/8" thickness. Fit the dough into every nook and cranny of the tart form. Fill the form with baking beans, or dried beans and bake until golden brown. Remove the baking beans from the form.
2. Bring a saucepan to the boil. Trim the green leaves from the bulbs of the wild leeks. Cook the leaves in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove them and squeeze out excess cooking water. Transfer the cooked leaves to a blender. Puree and reserve.
3. Slice the bulbs of the leeks very thinly on the bias. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. Add the leeks and saute for 5 minutes until leeks are softened.
4. Mix the eggs with the cream and seasonings in a stainless steel bowl. Add the puree of green wild leek. Spread the leek bulbs over the baked tart form and pour the egg mixture over the bulbs. Bake until the mixture puffs up and sets, about 20 - 30 minutes.
Adapted from Seasons by Jamie Kennedy
Difficulty Level: Easy
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