One of my most favorite foods is crust. Yes, you read that correctly- crust. When it comes to crust, I am pretty equal opportunity and love all kinds, but the best is pie crust. I can say without a trace of hyperbole that I would eat pretty much anything that was baked inside a flaky, buttery pie crust. And I am thinking of some pretty unsavory contenders right now.
Quiches are awesome because they give me the opportunity to eat pie crust for dinner with a salad and call it a balanced meal. This recipe for carrot tart is one of the very few recipes that I make over and over again- so it’s obviously special. I think it’s the “play on a classic” quality that wins me over- it’s close to a regular way quiche, but it has some nutrition in the form of carrot coins that look beautiful when sliced, melty cheese, though not so much that you start feeling guilty before you even eat it, and smoky toasted cumin seeds that give it an unexpected zing. I found this tart in the pages of my first cookbook, a Williams-Sonoma collection of recipes, and was so excited at the success of my first attempt at making something that actually looked difficult. It’s also great to cut into slices and freeze them individually, for easy and delicious leftovers.
Pie crust is always my best friend until it really, really isn’t- those times when the tide is low and Jupiter is rising and somehow your tried and true recipe bakes into a hardened sheet of disappointment and regret. Which many times leads to tears and feelings of undefined rage! Tell me I’m not alone…there is nothing like a botched pie crust to dredge up emotions you didn’t even know were lurking under the surface. I promise you that this recipe won’t betray you that way. It’s not my usual pie crust (though if you have a favorite, it will work here), it’s a slightly more buttery tart crust that reliably bakes to flaky perfection.
The cumin here is definitely a dominant flavor. If you don’t like cumin (I know you’re out there), this tart might not be for you, though you could experiment with some other toasted spice that’s more to your taste.
I’d also recommend not going overboard with your carrot stacking. You don’t want to stack them so tightly and to the brim that when you pour on your batter mixture there’s no room for it to go. Because then you’ll end up with a dish that is literally just a pile of carrots inside a crust without the delicious stuff that holds it together. I know I said I’d eat anything in a crust, but this would just be a waste.
Bon appetit and until next time, my friends- stay tuned for chocolate cookies that will satisfy even the most serious chocoholic in your life.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 or 6 scallions, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups (~12oz) thinly sliced peeled carrots
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
- Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg or ground mace
- 1 1/2 cups (6oz) shredded Gruyère, Emmenthaler or Jarlsberg cheese
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- Salt
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 4-5 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Slowly being adding the ice water and mix on low speed until the dough just holds together.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Lightly flour the work surface, then flatten the disk with 6-8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out, lifting and turning the dough and dusting the surface as needed, into a 14-inch round about 1/8 inch thick.
- Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9 1/2-inch tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides of the pan so that it extends slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.
- Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place an oven rack in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
- Lay a sheet of parchment paper over the pastry-lined tart pan; it should extend slightly beyond the rim. Weight it down with pie weights, raw rice or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes until pale gold in the lower third of the oven. If the dough still looks wet, continue to bake, checking it every 5 minutes.
- To make the filling, heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the butter. When it begins to foam, add the scallions and sauté until wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt, the sugar and the carrots and parboil until half cooked and bright orange, 1-2 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a small frying pan over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds until they are fragrant and take on a little color, 2-3 minutes. Pour onto a plate and let cool.
- In a bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, cream and nutmeg until blended, then season with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle half the cheese evenly over the bottom of the cooled pastry crust. Arrange as many of the carrot slices in the crust as will fit tightly, sprinkling them with the cumin and scallions as you add them. Pour the cream mixture over the carrots, filling the tart pan almost to the rim. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Bake the tart on the upper rack until the top is golden brown an the filling is set, 25-30 minutes. Remove the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/01/26/carrot-cumin-tart/
January 26, 2014 at 12:52 am
Pie crust…sigh…tears of frustration, often; a few successes to lure me on.
February 6, 2014 at 2:03 pm
I am a crust lover also. I made this last night and it was very good. The combination of colorful bright orange carrots, creamy custard, and of course CRUST were uplifting for the palette, and spirit, on a snowy winters evening.