We had a bunch of potatoes and blue cheese that needed to be used up so it seemed like a good opportunity to try out this recipe. The instructions having you making the pastry from scratch and rolling it out into a rectangle, but I already had some frozen pastry rounds in the fridge, so I just used one of them.

This is quite rich and very starchy: three kinds of cheese + potatoes and pastry. I served it with a salad to try to get some more vegetables and variety in the mix. Possibly a goat cheese and prosciutto salad was a bit too rich to be paired with this particular tart, but I really wanted to try it! I think, if I were to do it again, I'd go with a slightly lighter salad and probably add a soup as well just so the meal doesn't lean quite so heavily on the tart. I think a spinach salad with some fruit and nuts (maybe strawberries and almonds) and a nice balsamic vinaigrette would be a good complement to the tart. And maybe a fresh, homemade (not-too-creamy) tomato soup to go along with it.

Potato and Blue Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2020

Ingredients

• ~200g pie crust pastry
• 120g cream cheese, softened
• ~1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese, divided
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. Roman Mustard
• 3/4 tsp. dried rosemary, divided
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 large egg, separated
• 450g russet (or other floury) potatoes, sliced thin
• 1-2 shallots, sliced thin

Directions

1. Roll pastry into a large circle or rectangle and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
2. Whisk 1/4 c. of Parmesan and 1/4 c. of blue cheese into the softened cream cheese.
3. Add oil, mustard, 1/2 tsp. of rosemary, pepper, and salt and mix well.
4. Mix in egg yolk.
5. Add potatoes and shallot to cream cheese mixture and stir/toss to coat.
6. Transfer potato mixture to centre of dough and spread evenly to cover, leaving a border for folding up edges later.
7. Sprinkle filling with remaining 1/4 c. of blue cheese and 2 Tbsp. of the remaining Parmesan.
8. Fold edges of crust over filling. (The aim isn't to cover all the filling, just give it a neat border.)
9. Lightly whisk the egg white and brush it onto the exposed bits of crust. (You won't need it all.)
10. Sprinkle the crust with the remaining 2 Tbsp. of Parmesan.
11. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 45 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
13. Carefully transfer to wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes or so before serving.

---

Variations

Potato and Parmesan Tart

Just replace all the blue cheese with more Parmesan. Done.