×
Donal Skehan
Potato, Cheese & Thyme Tart | DonalSkehan.com, Taking leftovers up a notch!
  • light-meals

Potato, Cheese & Thyme Tart

January 21

This simple but very tasty tart makes an elegant dinner party starter served with some lightly dressed winter leaves. This savoury tart is a wonderful way to use up any last pieces of cheese you might have in the fridge so it’s up to you what you use. A good Irish cheese like Durrus works well here but you could push the flavour even further by using a blue cheese like Young Buck or Bellingham Blue.

 

  • serves Serves 6
  • time 90 mins

Method

  1. 1. Put the flour and butter into a mixing bowl and, using your fingertips, lightly rub them together until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the cold water a little at a time and incorporate with a spoon. When the dough comes together, turn out onto a clean work surface and knead lightly just until it forms a ball. Press into a flat circle, wrap in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. 2. Grease a 23cm (8in) pie dish, 4cm (11⁄2 in) in depth (capacity 1.2 litres /2 pints), and dust with flour. Roll out the dough into a circle on a clean, floured work surface, to about 5mm (1⁄4in) thick. Transfer the rolled-out pastry to the tin and gently press it into all the sides. Roughly trim off most of the excess but leave some all round the edge of the tin to allow for shrinking. Don’t panic if the pastry breaks at all, just press it together with your fingers and repair any cracks with a little of the trimmed pastry. Chill in the fridge for 10–15 minutes.
  3. 3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Prick the pastry base with a fork, line with some scrunched-up greaseproof paper and pour in baking beans or dried pulses. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the greaseproof paper and beans and cook for a further 5 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven, trim off the remaining excess pastry and set aside on a wire cooling rack. Meanwhile, place a large frying pan over a high heat, add the oil and fry the potatoes and onion for 20–25 minutes until tender, stirring regularly to ensure they don’t stick. Mix through the cheese and thyme and arrange on the base of the pastry case.
  4. 4. Whisk together the cream and eggs, season with nutmeg, sea salt and ground black pepper. Pour this over the potatoes, making sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies. Place the tart in the oven to cook for about 20 minutes, until golden on top and set.

Rate this recipe

Average rating 4 / 5. Vote count: 3

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this recipe.

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g butter, very cold and cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing

2 tbsp ice-cold water

For the filling:

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

400g waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced

150g cheese, grated or crumbled

1⁄2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

200ml cream

3 large free-range eggs

Pinch of nutmeg

Sea salt and ground black pepper

 

You'll Need

Medium mixing bowl

23cm (8in) pie dish, 4cm (11⁄2 in) in depth

Cling film

Parchment paper

Baking beans/dried pulses

Wire rack

Large frying pan