This thyme-enhanced recipe has all the earmarks of a favorite: cheese stuck to the page, flour dust from my hands, a few telling drips of browned butter. You can always spot the best loved dishes by the state of the recipe card. I shared this one with Nugget Markets for the holidays, and they were kind enough to include it in their newsletter.
We typically make the tart as a side dish at dinner—or even as a main, paired with a salad—but all that’s left to do is add some eggs and it’s wonderful for breakfast. In this case I’ve cooked them directly on top, but it might even be simpler to make a large pan of scrambled eggs to plate alongside this dish—a good idea for a bigger crowd.
A note on ingredients: The fillings are flexible. Make it work with what you have. Pull some greens from your dinner side-dishes if you prefer. Double up your pie dough recipe and set some aside. Or even pick up a pre-made crust. Do whatever you need to do to save yourself those extra moments in the morning. Also, if you do make the crust, consider making an extra—the pepper is so good with sweet fillings, too.
Leek and Mushroom Breakfast Tart with Salt-and-Pepper Crust
Recipe adapted from The Sunset Cookbook
For crust:
7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 cup flour, with extra for dusting rolling surface
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Combine ingredients in a medium bowl or food processor. Press or pulse until mix resembles coarse cornmeal, and then drizzle in ice water (approximately 3 Tbsp.) just until dough comes together.
Turn dough onto plastic wrap and press into 1-inch-thick disk.
Cover; chill for 30 minutes, or up to two days.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Lightly flour work surface and roll dough into a 12-inch circle.
Place rolled-out dough into a 9-inch tart pan and trim edges flush.
Puncture base with a fork to allow steam to escape.
Cover dough with aluminum foil and weigh it down with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake crust for 20 minutes.
Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes or until crust is just golden.
Let the crust cool to room temperature.
For filling:
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 leeks, light parts quartered, cleaned and sliced thin
½ tsp. salt
1 lb. chanterelles (or any mushrooms you prefer) cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated aged Gruyère cheese
Eggs for topping or for scrambling.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add leeks and salt, stirring until leeks are soft. Remove the leeks from the pan and set aside.
Bring heat to high and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Add mushrooms, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have given off their liquid (5–10 minutes).
Stir in thyme and pepper and remove mushrooms from the pan. Add the cream to the still-hot pan to remove any browned bits, and remove from heat.
Spread half the grated cheese over tart crust, then add leeks. Pour cream from pan over the leeks, then add the mushrooms.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake tart. If baking without eggs on top, keep it in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden (about 25 minutes). If adding eggs directly, remove the tart from the oven, after about 17 minutes, and crack the eggs directly on top. Bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks are still soft—approximately 7 to 10 more minutes.
Let sit a few minutes before cutting. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve warm or at room temperature.
P.S. More breakfast inspiration: Perfect soft-cooked eggs (we make these almost every day) and scrambled eggs; the best buttermilk waffles; and a fantastic “Garden Goddess Breakfast ‘burrito’.” Also, the most decadent: French toast roast with caramelized bananas.
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