Monday. 05/10/2015. 'Fennel and Leek Tart with Pecorino Cheese.'

This recipe comes from 'Gino's Veg Italia!' by Gino D'Acampo. Page 82.

This week's trial, the emphasis is on vegetables... Love them or hate them, a balanced diet includes them. After last week healthy menu that went so well, we were on an incentive to keep it going. But also for us as keen gardeners, knowing what to do with our grown veg to show them at their best is a biggie. 

Book Pic.

This first dish was appealing to me because I like fennel a lot but I must confess that it is a veg that does rarely appear on my shopping list. It's a little bit about introducing more diversity at home, for the world of veg does not consist of potatoes, onions, carrots, tomatoes and celery. All of which are the staple veg in this household. The book picture was also very attractive. 

The Prep.

Cubetti di Pancetta and Leeks mix.

I was faithful to the recipe apart from one added ingredient, cubetti di Pancetta, 80g which I cooked alongside the leeks. Although I would not mind eating totally veggie for a week for I did have a six months spell of vegetarianism back in my days, it is another story with my carnivorous other half. So I treated that Tart a little bit like a 'Quiche' and it did the trick to please.

Frying the slices of Fennel first like Gino says gives them that lovely toasted look, that visually appetising edge. Then the tart's filling of eggs, milk, cream, pecorino cheese and toasted fennel seeds was easy to whisk together into an unctuous mixture.

Filo Casing.

The most difficult part here is the lining of the tin with the filo pastry to make the adequate base for the filling. It involved brushing with melted butter each sheet of filo to built up a sound case that will hold the filling. The more you add a sheet, the more the shape surrounding the tin looks like a star, but this allows you to create decent edges, high enough. 

The build up is leeks and cubetti di Pancetta, then the egg/milk/cream/Pecorino mixture goes in followed by the fennel decoration on top, and the tart is ready to go in the oven. 

The Built up Tart.

Side Salad.

While I waited for it to be ready I prepared a little side salad with some ingredients leftover from last week. It was easy to jazz up together, chopping a Cucumber into cubes, chopping the Parsley roughly, a couple of Spring Onions then halving the Radishes, and pickling the last two elements the way Jamie Oliver's week taught me. Build the side salad on the plate at the last minute, just before removing the Tart from the oven just to give that miracle simple pickling a chance to do its magic and: 'Et voilà': My leftover salad! Mind you I have to admit that the 'Super Food' week trial left me with very nice ingredients to chose from. 

Out of the Oven.

The Fennel and Leek Tart that came out looked fabulous and both of us were impressed. But the ultimate proof is in the taste on the plate. 

The Result.

This first dish of the week delivered on flavour and simplicity. It was a truly scrumptious dinner which we both enjoyed. It got the high five. Economically, the Tart divided in four, left two slices for our lunch boxes which is a plus added to its great taste. We will definitely have it again.