There’s no better souvenir from a trip than a recipe. Or, in this instance, hunting your sense memory for the right flavors and textures to create one when you get back home.
Andrea Tese, owner of Minnow at the Galley Ho in New Suffolk, exemplifies this with her Tart Comté. The menu addition at Minnow (650 1st St., New Suffolk, 631-734-8474) offers the comforting appeal of a rich, quiche-like dish featuring French Comté cheese (similar to gruyère) and is perfect for savoring on a rainy day.
After being inspired on a trip to London following a meal at the farm-to-table restaurant Noble Rot — a place she affectionately deems “after my own heart” — Tese set about perfecting the tart. Dissatisfied with the original’s subtlety, she achieved a more robust flavor by blending Comté with Chällerhocker (pronounced “hawler-hocker”), an unpasteurized, semi-hard cheese from the Swiss Alps.
Cozy, cheesy and oh-so pleasing, this local restaurateur found sunny culinary inspiration on a gloomy London day. (Photos by Doug Young)
Tese describes this light, savory lunch or brunch option as “a cloud of melt-in-your-mouth flavor” and serves it with a slice of upstate New York duck prosciutto and spicy local greens from KK’s the Farm in a thick tarragon Dijon vinaigrette. She explains, “You’re eating kind of light and healthy, but you feel like you’re being kind of decadent because the cheese is strong.”
To find the perfect cheese for this at-home version, you might need to hop across the pond — not to Britain, but to Shelter Island — and visit artisanal cheesemonger King Andrew (aka the cheese wagon!). Located at Kilb’s Farm Stand (across from Slice) as well as occasional stints in the Vine Street lot, we’re referring to Reeve Andrew and Jessie King’s unique 18th-century covered wagon (complemented by their self-service fridge). There, you’ll find a curated selection of cheeses such as Comté, the similar Beaufort and the Swiss “cellar-sitting” Chällerhocker, alongside cured meats and condiments.
Pair this tart with the creamy texture and orchard-fruit influences of Wölffer’s 2022 Gold Label Chardonnay as you plan for sunnier days in the garden.
Comté Tart
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 1 cup flour, sifted
- 1 tbsp extra flour for dusting
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the dish
- 5 tbsp water
- 1 egg, beaten, for brushing
For the filling
- 1 cup Comté, grated
- 1 cup Chällerhocker, grated
- 1 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup crème fraiche
- 5 eggs
Directions
To make the pastry
- Put all the ingredients (except the water and the egg for brushing) in a bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add 5 tbsp water, one tablespoon at a time, and knead the dough until it comes together. Form into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes or until needed.
- Lightly grease a 9- or 10-inch tart dish.
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Use it to line the buttered tart dish. Leave some excess pastry hanging over the rim, as it will shrink in the oven.
- Prick the bottom of the dish with a fork before putting it in the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325° F.
To make the filling
- Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl with 2 pinches of salt and whisk.
- When ready to bake, remove the dish from the fridge, line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake until the edges are golden, about 25 minutes.
- Remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans, brush the dough with 1 beaten egg and bake again for 5 minutes or until the bottom looks cooked.
- Remove the dish from the oven and decrease the temperature to 300° F.
- Pour ¾ of the filling into the tart dish immediately, place the tart back in the oven and carefully top it up with the remaining filling. (This is to prevent it from spilling out when filled to the top after you put it back in the oven.)
- Bake for about 60 minutes or until the middle doesn’t wobble when you shake the tart lightly. Let cool for 15 minutes, then trim the edge of the pastry with a sharp knife.
- Cut into 6-8 pieces and serve with spicy greens, sliced duck prosciutto and a thick Dijon vinaigrette.
