tarte tartiflette

I recently spent some time in Saskatoon. It was a bit like revisiting an old album (or for a less poetic example, rewatching the first season of Digimon on Youtube) where you discover that you remember so much. There is so much familiar, and maybe it’s a particular exchange (and if we’re talking English-dubbed Digimon, almost certainly some terrible puns) or a particular street or shop, but some of it is in fact crystalline in its clarity. And some of it was not even the recall of memories that had been slightly out of reach–I realised a number of childhood memories that I had falsely attributed to Victoria were in fact Saskatoon. Despite the drastically different location–one on an island, and one in the prairies–there is something similar about the feeling between the two cities, perhaps to do with the size and the people and this trajectory of gentle growth. It’s perhaps a strange comparison to make, but there is also the architecture of a smaller downtown packed with beautiful older buildings.

As for the baking. Well. Many things, such as funerals and the like, are not often particularly cheerful–though they can be many other things, such as cathartic, releasing, memorable, and reminiscent. However, bookending anything not particularly cheerful with visits to bakeries and a box of pastries tends to be, if not positive, at the very least not a negative development.

It was in one sort of situation or another that we found ourselves at Little Bird Patisserie. In a word it was incredible; while we didn’t arrive in time for a famed cruffin, the croissants were spectacular, crisp, light, flaky, well-browned, and perhaps what made them stand out the most–well-salted.

t was a bit of a fantasy shop for me actually; apparently they serve afternoon tea, a creative and rotating array of pastries savoury and sweet, and of course a fantastic croissant.

But anyways, after recovering from all the croissant-induced satiety and gaiety, there was also their “tartiflette“. It essentially sang of smokey cured meat, aged cheese, all nestled between packed layers of thinly sliced potatoes under a crisp, deep brown crust. And so while the croissants are something I hope to (re)visit someday, for the moment the tartiflette took priority.

Looking into the namesake a bit, tartiflette, it turns out, is a gratin-type dish using potatoes, lardons, onion and reblochon cheese, and not at all a tart. But it does retain the same sort of spirited mishmash of rich and winter-y ingredients and intense carbohydrate piling.

In making this tart, I used whatever meat and cheese I had in the fridge. As I had hard cheeses, and because conceptualizing putting together the tart wasn’t clicking otherwise, I made a very thick and rich bechamel (more along the lines of a suspension of milk in melted cheese than the converse). Onions and garlic scapes were cooked together until the onions were softened. I’ve put in bacon previously; the photographed version I made here I left it out. All of this was layered with parboiled potatoes.

It is in the end a bit more of a scalloped potato tart than a tartiflette tart (if only because I’m not using the proper cheese for a tartiflette). But it was a good tart–especially eaten warm, it is rich and heavy. The bottom crust didn’t become too sodden, and the thin spread of bechamel overtop crisped up beautifully.

• Servings: 1 large rectangular tart (roughly 26 by 15 cm)
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Inspired by the tartiflette at Little Bird Patisserie and then by this tartiflette recipe in the Guardian by Felicity Cloake. This recipe is not at all anything close to a tartiflette.

special equipment: one rectangular tart tin with a removable bottom that is about 26x15cm

crust: 1 stick butter worth of rough puff pastry (about 350g) or a flaky pie dough (here I used Claire Saffitz’s rough puff pastry from Dessert Person made with 50% whole wheat flour)

fillings

• 450g small potatoes
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic scapes or garlic cloves, minced
• 50g bacon, chopped (leave out for vegetarian version)

bechamel

• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp flour
• 150mL half-and-half or milk
• 1/8 tsp dry thyme or leaves picked from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 100g aged white cheddar, grated
• black pepper
• 1 tsp coarse kosher salt, or to taste

assembly

• small fistful chives
• picked fresh thyme leaves
• 20g aged white cheddar, grated

crust

Begin by prebaking the crust. Roll out the crust into a rectangle larger than the tart tin. Drape over the tin and press the dough into all the corners. Leave the overhang – this is a technique to help prevent the edges from shrinking down when the tart is baked. Cover and chill completely.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Prick the crust all over with a fork. Crumple a piece of parchment paper, unfold and use to find the tart tin. Fill the paper with baking weights.

Blind bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove the baking weight, dock the pastry again, and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the pastry is a bit dried and browned on the bottom.

fillings

Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes 3/16″ (or 4-5mm) thick. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan over medium, add the onions and garlic scape and cook until the onions are soft. Add the bacon and continue to cook over a medium heat, until the bacon is cooked. If you are using garlic, not garlic scapes, add along with the bacon to prevent the garlic from burning. Transfer to another dish.

bechamel

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and whisk until thick and cooked. Gradually whisk in the half-and-half or milk until smooth. Add the thyme and bay leaf and heat until over medium until the mixture is steaming (but not bubbling). Add the cheese, a handful at a time to the sauce, whisking until melted before the next handful. Season with plenty of black pepper and about 1 tsp kosher salt or to taste. Transfer to another dish and set aside until ready to assemble the tart.

assembly

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Arrange a layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of the tart, using about 1/4 of the potatoes. Sprinkle with a small pinch of salt. Drizzle 1/4 of the bechamel overtop and spread over the potatoes. Scatter 1/3 of the onion mixture, chives and thyme leaves over top. Repeat layering the potatoes, bechamel, onion/chives/thyme twice more. Finally, set down a last layer of potatoes and spread with the remaining 1/4 of the bechamel. Sprinkle the 20g grated cheddar over top.

Bake for around 40 minutes or until a little bit bubbly and golden brown on top. Let cool on a wire rack–some time is required to allow the filling to set a bit, but it is best while still a bit warm. Trim off the overhanging crust and then pop out of the tart tin. Cut into squares. Store any leftovers in the fridge, but be sure to heat them up before eating.

Update notes: updated Oct 2021.