Leek and tarragon tart

This is a muckabout of a couple of Tamasin Day Lewis’s lovely tart recipes, plus a bit of tinkering about. It’s good warm or cold, but not absolutely boiling hot.

Pastry made with 60g plain white flour, 60g rolled oats, 60g unsalted butter, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of water (usual method – blast flour, oats, salt and diced cold butter in blender until like damp sand, then drizzle over the iced water and whizz again until it starts to come together. Put in the fridge for 30 mins – not longer as this pastry is a bit crumbly and rather a pain to work with).
5 big leeks (about 1.3kg), green and tough outer leaves and ends removed and sliced
90g unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
150ml double cream
small handful of chopped tarragon leaves
Salt, black pepper, nutmeg

Roll out the pastry into a 22cm/9inch shallow tart tin and put this back into the fridge. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/150 fan.
Sweat the leeks in the butter until they’re soft. Stir in the tarragon leaves. Let this mixture cool.
Whisk the cream and the egg yolks and season with salt, pepper and a small grating of nutmeg. Pour this into the cooled leeks and give it a good stir. Spread this mixture over the pastry case. Bake in the oven for 35-40 mins.

Braised fennel

2 large fennel bulbs
3-4tbsp olive
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Cut the fennel bulb in half and then cut away the tough core. Then cut in half again to form wedge-shaped pieces. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the fennel until it is golden brown on all sides. Transfer to aroasting tin or open casserole dish as it is cooked. Add the rosemary and garlic to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes to soften before sprinkling over the fennel. Season. Transfer to the oven and braise for 45-60 minutes. Shake the pan a couple of times during cooking to turn the fennel. Remove from the oven, squeeze over a little lemon and serve immediately.