
A vegetable tart in varying forms is a mainstay of Seb Myers’s restaurant menu. This one celebrates the combination of grilled girolles on a bed of soft and sweet chard and leeks. Seb uses finely ground sobacha tea (cracked buckwheat) in the pastry, giving an earthy and nutty flavour that complements the girolles and offers a toasted depth of flavour to offset a creamy Comté cheese sauce. Mustard and sorrel leaves provide some pep, and the dish is finished with chervil oil.
Note: Seb uses vintage de Buyer pans that he bought in Marseilles to cook the pastry cases, giving the tarts sloped sides. But regular tartlet tins will work just as well.
Start the chervil oil the day before you want to serve the dish. Place the chervil and grapeseed oil in a Thermomix set to 80°C (or see below if you don’t have a Thermomix)
Blend, and once it reaches 80°C, transfer to an airtight container and set aside to cool. Rest in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, if you don’t have a Thermomix, place the chervil and oil in a high-powered blender and blend on full speed until the mixture is smooth and steam begins to rise from the oil (about 3-5 minutes). Pour into a saucepan and gently bring to a boil to extract the chlorophyll, stirring occasionally – this will happen as soon as it comes to boil; the oil and solids will separate and turn the oil bright green. Cool as above
The next day pass the chervil oil through a fine mesh sieve lined with a muslin cloth
For the braised leeks for the base of the tart, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the leeks. Season with salt and cook on a low heat with a lid on until soft but not coloured
Blanch the chard leaves in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes, then drain, finely slice and add to the leeks. Cook the vegetables until very soft and have confited in the butter, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and the Chardonnay vinegar. Keep warm
For the pastry, preheat the oven to 170°C. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a beater attachment, combine the flour, ground sobacha tea and salt
Bring the water and butter to the boil in a small pan, then pour over the dry ingredients in a mixer and mix it to bring it together into a dough. Wrap well and cool to room temperature
Roll the pastry to 2mm thick and cut into discs slightly bigger than the size of your tins. Line the tins and bake for 20 minutes or until crisp and brown. Leave the tart cases to cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the tins. Set aside
For the Comté sauce, place the cheese in a high-powered blender. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a pan, then pour over the cheese and blend until smooth. Season with salt and the Chardonnay vinegar. Keep warm (this will make more than you need)
Once ready to serve, preheat the oven to 180°C and preheat a charcoal grill or barbecue for direct grilling
For the grilled mushrooms, toss the girolles in a little melted butter in a sieve, then place over the grill and cook until golden and cooked through, tossing regularly. Remove and season with salt and a little Chardonnay vinegar
To assemble the tarts, spoon the braised vegetables into the base of each tart case, top with the mushrooms, then place in the oven for a couple of minutes to warm through
Meanwhile, dress some mustard and sorrel leaves in a little sherry vinegar and olive oil
To serve, top the warm tarts with the leaves and marigold leaves. Drizzle over a little chervil oil and serve with the warm Comté sauce at the table for pouring over
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