As you've probably heard from my previous blog posts, it's been really cold in my area. Needless to say, I've been looking for recipes that use my oven to help Will and me stay warm. Unfortunately, I did not pay attention to the recipe and failed to notice the labor intensity that this requires; it takes two to three hours to complete, so don't do it if you're in a rush.
First, let a pound of frozen puff paste come up to room temperature for fifteen minutes. Cut off a quarter of the puff paste and set it aside.
Thoroughly butter or oil an eight inch springform pan. Roll out the remaining three quarters of a pound of puff paste to about a quarter inch thickness and place into prepared pan, making sure that it's distributed evenly and has about an inch of overhang. Roll out the remaining one quarter of puff paste to about a quarter inch thickness and cut out to fit the top of the springform pan. Freeze any leftover puff paste. Cover the puff paste round and the prepared crust and refrigerate until it's ready to fill.
Roast six bell peppers on a baking sheet under a broiler, peel off the blistered and blackened peels, cut them so it lays flat, and core and seed them. Meanwhile, combine ten eggs, salt, pepper, and dried tarragon in a large bowl. Melt three Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet on low; once it's no longer bubbly, add the eggs. Scramble very lightly and softly; remember that you are going to bake them and do not wish them to become rubbery. Set these on a plate large enough to leave the eggs flat without piling them, cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill the tourte.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to boil. Add ten ounces of spinach and blanch for one minute. Drain and wring all the moisture out of it.
In a skillet, melt one Tablespoon each butter and safflower oil. Add your spinach; if it is in a tight ball, pull it apart, two minced garlic cloves, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook for two minutes.
Now it's time to assemble the tourte. Remove the shell, round, and eggs from the refrigerator. To assemble, spread half of the eggs evenly in the shell, followed by half the spinach, three ounces of sliced Jarlsburg cheese, four ounces sliced smoked ham, the bell peppers, another three ounces of Jarlsburg, another four ounces smoked ham, the other half of the spinach, and the other half of the eggs. Make an egg wash using one egg, a Tablespoon of water, and a pinch of salt; brush this over the rim of the crust of the tourte. Place the top onto the tourte and press in to cement the top to the tourte. Brush the entire egg wash thoroughly and refrigerate half an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 and place a cookie sheet in the bottom third of the oven. Brush the top of the tourte with more egg wash and bake for an hour and ten minutes on the heated baking sheet or until the crust is crisp and golden brown. Let it sit on a cooling rack to cool at least fifteen minutes before cutting and eating.
Will loved this; the flavor was excellent, and it's good either hot or cold. I would strongly suggest making this the night before you need it because it is so labor intensive. I have a lot of ham left over, so you can guarantee a few dishes like my ham broccoli and rice bake and ham and cheese sandwiches in the coming week.
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