Dorie's Mustard Tart

Well, here I am again, posting something the Fridays with Dorie group did ages ago. Kind of a funny story with this recipe. I took it along to an Easter potluck. Probably not the smartest thing to do when I'd never made it before. It sure looked pretty, but after comparing it to photos online, mine seemed to be a bit browner on top. Perhaps I cooked it too long. 
I took some photos for the blog anyway and then hopefully took it along to the dinner. When we cut slices, there seemed to be lots of crust and not much custard. I did use a larger tart pan than suggested but thought I increased the custard ingredients sufficiently. Guess not. Everyone said they loved it (such polite friends), but I was honest and admitted it hadn't turned out the way it should.

So, because there were still enough ingredients left to make a couple small tarts, I decided to make the recipe again and try to figure out what happened. Of course, these tarts turned out perfectly. Wouldn't you just know it? Especially when I was the only one to see the perfect result. And of course, now....you.  I know you can't taste these, but take a gander at that last photo. Plenty of custard there, even in so small a tart.  :) Trust me when I say these are delicious. And I don't even like mustard.
My error must have been the custard to tart pan ratio...the only other thing I changed the second time was to use heavy cream in place of creme fraiche. I will be making this again.

Gérard’s Mustard Tart
From "Around My French Table" by Dorie Greenspan 

Ingredients:

3 carrots (not too fat), trimmed and peeled

3 thin leeks, white and light green parts only, cut lengthwise in half and washed

2 rosemary sprigs

3 large eggs

6 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, or to taste

2 tablespoons grainy mustard, preferably French, or to taste

Salt, preferably fleur de sel, and freshly ground white pepper

1 9- to 9½-inch tart shell made from a tart dough of your choice (I always use Ina Garten's recipe, see below, because it has Crisco AND butter in it which I think results in a flakier crust.) partially baked and cooled.

Method:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Cut the carrots and leeks into slender bâtons or sticks: First cut the carrots lengthwise in half, then place the halves cut side down on the cutting board and cut crosswise in half or cut into chunks about 3 inches long. Cut the pieces into 1/ 8- to 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks. If your carrots were fat and you think your matchsticks don’t look svelte enough, cut them lengthwise in half. Cut the leeks in the same way.

Fit a steamer basket into a saucepan. Pour in enough water to come almost up to the steamer, cover, and bring to a boil. Drop the carrots, leeks, and 1 rosemary sprig into the basket, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the vegetables and pat them dry; discard the rosemary sprig.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together with the crème fraîche or heavy cream. Add the mustards, season with salt and white pepper — mustard has a tendency to be salty, so proceed accordingly — and whisk to blend. Taste and see if you want to add a little more of one or the other mustards.

Put the tart pan on the lined baking sheet and pour the filling into the crust. Arrange the vegetables over the filling — they can go in any which way, but they’re attractive arranged in spokes coming out from the center of the tart. Top with the remaining rosemary sprig and give the vegetables a sprinkling of salt and a couple of turns of the pepper mill. 

Bake the tart for about 30 minutes, or until it is uniformly puffed and lightly browned here and there and a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature (or lightly chilled).

Ina Garten's Perfect Pie Crust 

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter 
3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1 tablespoon sugar 
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening 
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Method:
Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust. 
Yield: 2 (10-inch) crusts