Fennel and Roquefort Tart is an elegant appetizer or light meal richly flavored with creamy Roquefort cheese and fennel, from the doyenne of French cooking, Anne Willan.
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Anne Willan is one of the great authorities on French cooking and the founder of the legendary La Varenne cooking school, which she opened in Paris in 1975. She’s written more than 30 cookbooks, won multiple James Beard Awards, and was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2013. Her style is classic French cooking, but always very clear and practical for the home cook. It really shines in this simple but elegant fennel and Roquefort tart.
This fennel and Roquefort tart, or quiche, is a classic example of the simple genius of rustic French cooking. The ingredients are simple, but powerful…Roquefort cheese packs a huge flavor punch, and fennel adds a sophisticated licorice flavor and a subtle crunch. Fresh thyme and a touch of nutmeg complete the flavor profile ~ perfection!
Roquefort is named for Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in France and is a protected place-name cheese. Substitutes include:
- Gorgonzola ~ probably the closest overall
- Stilton ~ a little firmer and earthier
- Danish blue ~ milder, creamier, easy to find
- Maytag blue ~ good American option
The recipe calls for a cooked pastry shell, but you can use a frozen pie crust for convenience.
The tart can be served warm or at room temperature, which makes it great for a brunch buffet or casual entertaining. A salad is all you need to complete the meal:
- French Carrot Salad
- Chopped Greek Salad
- Chopped Italian Salad Recipe
- 30 Second Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
- Avocado Salad with Herbs
This recipe is from La Varenne
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Fennel and Roquefort Tart
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp chopped thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 6 oz Roquefort cheese, crumbled
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- pastry dough, baked in a 10 inch tart pan
Instructions
- Set oven to 375°F.
prepare the filling
- Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat, then add fennel, thyme, salt and pepper. *Use very little salt, as the cheese is very salty. Press a piece of buttered foil on top, cover and sweat the fennel, stirring occasionally, until very soft but not brown, 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the custard.
prepare the custard
- Add egg, egg yolk, milk, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to a mixing bowl. Whisk until just combined.
assemble and bake
- When fennel is soft, add Roquefort cheese and stir to melt the cheese. (I skipped this step because I thought the cheese would be nicer if left crumbled to melt as the tart baked, partly for texture and partly for taste) Spread mixture evenly in base of pastry shell and pour over custard. Gently mix fennel and custard with a fork.
- Bake the tart in heated oven until done, 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly before un-molding. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
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