This delicious walnut pastry tart features a rich, flaky crust made with toasted walnut pieces, paired with a creamy leek and thyme filling. Topped with tangy goat's cheese and briny olives, it’s a perfect blend of savoury flavors. Baked to golden perfection, these individual tarts make an impressive starter.
Serves 8
Walnut pastry:
½ cup Trickett’s walnut pieces, toasted and chopped
1½ cups Girolomoni organic ‘00’ flour
125g cold Lewis Road Creamery lightly salted butter, cubed
1 free-range egg yolk
2 tsp Accoceberry Espelette smooth mustard
Filling:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
3 small free-range eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup cream
Sal de Añana spring salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped thyme leaves
110g Cranky Goat The Nag goat’s cheese, sliced
¼ cup pitted Salvagno olives
For the pastry, put the walnuts, flour and a big pinch of salt in a food processor. Process to roughly chop. Add the flour and a big pinch of salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, mustard and 2 Tbsp ice cold water. Process only just until mixture clumps together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a disc; wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 3mm thick and use to line 6 x 10cm tart tins. Prick pastry bases all over with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Position rack in the lower part of the oven and put an oven tray on the rack, to heat. Heat oil in a frying pan, add the leek and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft
Put the eggs and cream in a bowl, season well and whisk to combine. Stir in the leek and thyme. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pastry cases and top each with some goat’s cheese and a few olives.
Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is set. Cool in tins for 5 minutes then serve warm.
Recipe by Julie Le Clerc
