I love quiche, I really do. But I think flamiche has taken a step up and replaced my love for quiche. I still love quiche, but given a choice, I’ll take the flamiche! You can’t really go wrong with leeks. This post will combine recipes from two different books. The aforementioned Mes Tartes by Christine Ferber and Tarts: Sweet and Savory by Maxine Clarke.
First of all you will need some creme fraiche. It’s ridiculously expensive and difficult to find, considering how easy it is to make. You will need:
- Heavy cream
- 1-2 tbsp sour cream or buttermilk
Combine the heavy cream with the sour cream/buttermilk. Allow the mixture to stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Then put it in the refrigerator where it will thicken over the next several hours or overnight. Your creme fraiche will keep for at least a week.
Now we come to crusts. I’ve tried a few crusts from Maxine Clark’s cookbook already, so I wanted to play around with some new recipes from Mes Tartes. I like a sweeter crust to contrast with the savory tastes of the quiches and flamiche, so I opted to try out the Rich Flake Pastry No. 2 from Mes Tartes. The recipe is as follows:
- 250g pastry flour
- 150g confectioner’s sugar
- 200g softened butter
- Finely grated zest of 1/4 lemon
- 1 egg white
- 2g baking powder
- 2g salt
Sift the flour onto your work surface. Make a hollow. Sprinkle the salt, baking powder, and finely grated lemon zest around the edges of the hollow. Place the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the center. Work the butter and sugar with your fingertips until they become a velvety cream. Gather the flour little by little into the center of the hollow and rub the mixture lightly between your hands until it resembles coarse meal. Make another hollow and pour the egg white into it. Bring the flour, butter, and sugar mixture toward the center, lightly kneading the dough. Be careful not to work it too much.
Now shape the dough into a ball. Protect it by wrapping it carefully in plastic wrap. Leave it in the refrigerator at least 3 hours. Ideally, make it the day before and leae it refrigerated overnight.
Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before rolling it out.
Preheat your oven to 400 F.
You will now need to bake blind. I used mini tart shells, however you can also use an 8″ tart pan. It’s less of a pain in the rear end, that cutting out a bunch of circles 
Roll the dough out to about 1/8-1/4 of an inch, then roll the dough around your rolling pin. This will help prevent it from tearing and shrinking. Carefully lay the dough into your tart pan and press flat. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Chill the dough for 15 minutes.
Once the dough is chilled, place a layer of parchment paper down on the shell and fill the pan with baking beans. Lower the temperature on the oven to 350 F and bake blind for 10-12 minutes. Remove the baking beans, paint the shell with 1 slightly beaten egg white – this will fill the pricks and prevent any leaking and will also help protect the crust from becoming soggy. Bake for 5-7 more minutes.
Now we come to the delicious part – the flamiche! I used the recipe from Maxine Clarke’s Tarts: Sweet and Savory. It was amazing. For this recipe you will need the following:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 lbs leeks, split, well washed, and thickly sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 1/4 cups creme fraiche
- Freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Melt th ebutter in a large saucepan and add the leeks, stirring to coat. Add the a few tablespoons of water and the 1 tsp of salt, and cover with a lid. Steam very genetly for at least 30 minutes until soft and melting. Remove the lid and cook for a few minutes toe vaporate any excess liquid – the mixture should be quite thick. Let cool.
Put the egg yolks and creme fraiche into a bowl, add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and beat well. Set the pie crust on a baking sheet. Spoon the cooled leeks evenly into the pie crust, fluffing them up a bit with a fork. Pour the egg mixture over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until set and pale golden brown. Serve warm.
Tada!
