I first tasted Tunworth cheese at Simon Rogan’s 2 michelin star restaurant L’Enclume in the village where I live and loved it instantly. Since then, I tried it in recipes from Simon’s cookbook and I was thrilled when I was asked by the Hampshire Cheese Company to write some recipes for it and its sister cheese Winslade.
The rich, earthy, mushroom aroma of the Tunworth makes it a perfect partner to the leeks and potatoes of this tart. A heart warming, rich and full of flavour dish to be eaten only accompanied by some lightly dressed green leaves.
Ingredients (serves 6)
1 tub of Tunworth cheese (250g)
For the pastry base
- 1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
For the leeks
- 3 leeks, white part only
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 thyme sprig, leaves only
- 100ml vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the potatoes
- 300g potatoes
- A small handful of pitted green olives, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
To serve
- 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
Method
Preheat the oven to 2000C.
Unroll the puff pastry onto a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silpat. Use a knife to score a border all round measuring 1 ½ cm and a fork to prick all around inside the border. Beat the egg yolk in a bowl with 1 tbsp of cold water and use it to brush the pastry all over. Sprinkle the border with the white and black sesame seeds and bake the pastry for 20 minutes. Leave the pastry to cool.
While the pastry is baking, scrub the potatoes and cover with cold water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook until the potatoes are soft. Leave to cool and peel the skins off. Put the flesh in a bowl and use a fork to roughly mash. Chop the capers and add half of them together with the olive oil and half the chopped olives. Season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Spoon the potato mix and spread over the tart base.
Trim the leeks and slice thinly, rinse well and drain.
Bring a frying pan to a medium heat and add 2 tbsp of olive oil and the chopped onion. Sweat the onion for 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Cook for a minute more and add the sliced leeks. Cook for 3-4 minutes further and add the thyme leaves and stock. Cover the pan and lower the heat to cook the leeks slowly until soft and all the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Spoon the leeks over the potatoes in the tart. Slice the Tunworth and lay over the leeks. Sprinkle with the remaining sliced olives and capers and place under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes for the cheese to melt and bubble.
Sprinkle with the chopped chives and serve with a chilled glass of dry white wine.