Breakfast Tart With Gruyere, Scallions and Egg
April 1, 2009
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Until recently, I considered the making of tarts to be a laborious and time-consuming process. I' m not one to outsource ingredients, and wouldn' t be caught dead with a Pillsbury pre-made crust. But I must confess, philo dough has totally subverted my tartish snobbery. I can' t believe I' ve been too stubborn to get myself a frozen roll of this delightful dough. It could not be easier to work with (if you can stand a tear or two at first) and makes a truly beautiful base for whatever you can think to concoct. I recently created a surprise breakfast tart for my fiancé, but this could be used for anything flat and crusty—smear it with some marinara and bake on mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, and you' ve got yourself a very dignified margarita ‘pizza' indeed.
The tart I chose was Swiss-inspired, and ideal for breakfast. I discovered it while registering for wedding gifts at the local Williams-Sonoma during what was one of the most glorious days of my culinary life. As we were leaving the store with our greedy list of All Clads and doodads (cherry pitters, spiders, mandolins, etc.) I spotted a catalog. Just for fun, I picked it up and discovered the glorious image of eggs, bacon, chives and cheese atop a gilded crust. I glanced sideways at my future husband and grinned—what a delicious a.m. surprise.
I was surprised to discover that the edible masterpiece called for puff pastry dough, but I went for it anyway—a decision that opened up my gastronomical world. Now I can' t stop envisioning ways I could put this stuff to use for quick-dinners, breakfasts or lunches made with all of my favorite ingredients.
Anyway, the William-Sonoma recipe was wonderful, but slightly imperfect for my needs. For example, I have seriously clumsy thumbs and was not capable of constructing anything beautiful out of a single sheet of philo dough. So I doubled up. Also, I added extra crème-fraîche and cheese to make the base even richer and more spread-able. Finally, I used scallions instead of chives. The result was absolutely delicious: the crispy, dense taste of the bacon went wonderfully with the flaky dough and the tart cheese was a great complement to the runny egg and tangy scallion. This could easily be served for lunch or dinner, too, with a simple green salad beside.
All day long, the two of us were singing its praises: Yodelahehooooooo!
