La tarte aux restes de fromage

It happened...
the day we were leaving for our summer holiday: I had loads of bits of cheese left in my "cheese box" (really an old tupperware). a quarter of brie, 2 babybels and some goats cheese. and 2 leaks. As usual, i didn't want to throw the whole lot in the bin. that's how this recipe was born, and we all enjoyed it cold whilst crossing the Channel that evening.

You'll need...

• 1 block of shortcrust pastry (of puf if you mind the crumbs in the car!). If you are a purist by all mean make your own, it tastes a lot better but lasck of times often means small cheats.


• about 2 to 3 tbsp of French mustard


• enough cheese leftovers to cover the tart (chevre/goat's cheeses work well, as well as blue cheeses, parmesan...avoid feta though!)a couple of leeks (I am sure you could use tomatoes as well, if you try it before me, let me know!)


• some thyme (fresh or dried, whatever you;ve got). If no thyme, you can use herbes de provence dry mix, dry parsley, oregano, chives, basil. the idea is to use what you have.


• some foil to blind bake your pastry (or anything you normally use to prevent it from rising)


• a bit of olive oil+ a pastry brush ...or kitchen paper!


• a tart shaped pastry case, non stick if you have.

Get going...

• take your pastry out of the fridge 10 or so minutes before starting.


• roll it as thin as possible on a floured surface


• take your kitchen paper or brush, dip it in olive oil, brush bottom and sides of the tart case


• put your pastry on it, tuck it in well, cut the excess but not too close to the edge (I always leave about 1 cm extra in case it shrinks during cooking)


• make some holes in the bottom of the pastry with a fork, use foil...to make sure it stays flat, bling bake for 10 minutes , remove the foil, bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes until pastry is nearly cooked but not coloured


• take out, leave to cool for a little


• meanwhile, chop the leeks in half lengthway, then chop thinly. wash, pat dry, drop in a frying pan with a little olive oil. cook slowly until tender but not coloured.


• take your pastry, smear it with the mustard, scatter your leeks on it, arrange your cheese thinly sliced on top as you like (I put them in circles so everyone gets a bit of everything, but you can also make "quarters" ). top with the thyme.


• put back in the oven, about 200 degrees C (but watch it, each oven is different!) for 15 /18 minutes until cheese is melted and the pastry is nice and golden.

Bon appetit!