Cashel Blue

Cashel Blue and Leek Tart

Cashel Blue is Ireland's flagship farmhouse blue, mild and creamy rather than sharp. It melts beautifully into a simple leek tart in the style served at Irish country house hotels.

Prep

25 min

Cook

45 min

Total

70 min

Serves

4-6

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •250 g (8¾ oz) all-butter puff pastry, homemade or all-butter shop-bought; gluten-free pastry works
• •30 g (2 tbsp) Irish butter, plus extra for the dish
• •450 g (1 lb) leeks, trimmed, washed, thinly sliced (whites and pale greens)
• •2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, or null
• •150 ml (5 fl oz) double cream, or whipping cream
• •120 ml (4 fl oz) whole milk, or null
• •2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk, lightly beaten
• •0.5 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
• •0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or null
• •0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, optional
• •1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or chervil, or null
• •150 g (5¼ oz) Cashel Blue cheese, rind trimmed, crumbled into small pieces; Cambozola is the nearest substitute

Steps

1. 1 Roll the pastry out on parchment to a 30 cm (12 in) round about 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick the base all over with a fork. Chill for 15 minutes.
2. 2 Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (fan 180°C / 360°F).
3. 3 Melt the 30 g butter in a heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and sweat gently for 8-10 minutes until very soft but not coloured. Stir in the garlic for the final minute, then spread the leeks evenly over the pastry, leaving a 2 cm (¾ in) border.
4. 4 Scatter the crumbled Cashel Blue over the leeks and sprinkle with the thyme.
5. 5 In a jug, whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg (if using). Pour the custard carefully over the leeks and cheese - it should come just below the pastry border.
6. 6 Fold the pastry border inward to form a rustic rim, lightly pleating as you go. Brush the rim with a little extra cream or melted butter.
7. 7 Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the custard is just set with a faint wobble in the very centre. Internal temperature of the custard should reach 70°C / 160°F on an instant-read probe.
8. 8 Rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm, with a peppery green salad dressed with walnut oil, or as part of an Irish cheese board alongside soda bread and fig chutney.