I really really didn't want to cook today. Got out of work late (traffic snarled up again), went and bought the ingredients I needed then wandered aimlessly round Sainsbo's, trying to think of something I desperately needed and had to spend a long time thinking about, then eventually (I now know their entire range of non-food goods, which really isn't something to be proud of) came home. And read the Guardian, did the crossword (nearly), puzzle (absolutely), watched something fascinating about cooking on TV, checked hwsgo's now very-important-blog (vib); in short, anything but come into the kitchen and cook.
But I had to come here eventually (the butter was going soft), and start. So I made the pastry dough (p151) , started chopping the leeks, and suddenly it hit me. I'm in here doing something repetitive, difficult, long-winded (it's going to be well past bedtime when I finish tonight) because it calms me. And it calms me because I start to think. About life (not as bad as Monday), about work (definitely not as bad as Monday), about hwsgo and familes and roles and self and jobs and the limits of banks buying Bayesians because they're trendy but not thinking about what happens next (hopefully not the same as puppies after xmas, but my gut feeling tells me that only some will be allowed to stay in the house).
And then somewhere at the end of this reverie, I realise I have more leeks than I realistically have pan. I mean, I have some big pans, but the leek pile has filled a very large bowl and I'm suddenly wondering if I should revise my idea of 'big' for this quest. I also have my soup kettle, but I'm loathe to burn things on the bottom of it without reason, so I melt the butter and carefully tip all the leek cuttings into the biggest 'normal' pan that I own. Which they completely fill, as in no pan insides showing at all. Now I believe I'm logical, and I have several pieces of evidence that lead me to believe that everything's going to turn out fine. 1) I have enough pastry for an 8" dish, and there's no way that lot is going to fit into anything but an unreasonably tall 8" dish. 2) onions shrink, and leeks are basically onions on an Atkins diet, and 3) it looks a bit like my compost heap. Which is not as bad as it sounds. One of things I love about my compost heap (compost not having been one of them yet) is that it's always full when I fill it up (with leaves, grass, clippings etc), but when I come back to it, there's always a gap in the top waiting to be filled. Now either some kind soul has been digging out my compost for the last few years (and I wouldn't put the neighbourhood squirrels past that), or when you warm up a pile of leaves they shrink. So that's solved nicely then. But there's still the issue of where the butter went. I put leek clippings on it, stirred them and all the butter disappeared. And how are the leeks going to sweat without water? I'm really hoping the stuff about their high water content is true, or it's compost pie for supper tonight...
It's okay; it's half an hour later and all the mysteries (the leek-based ones anyway) have been solved. They do have enough water to sweat; the butter has run out and joined the leek juice too, and I can see half of my pan insides with no leek-shifting cheating. I think I can go and bake the pastry now...
...okay, problem. I don't own a small baking thing. I have 10" ones and huger, but nothing at 8". I must remember to buy at least one of these (all my baking trays are rubber, so another one of those would be good), as well as the large frying pan that I need, and a full-sized Le Creuset pot. All I need now is a town with shops that stock that sort of thing.
Okay folks. I'm supposed to be one of the smarter people in the world (there are also people who think I'm completely stupid, but I guess it's all relative). Let's think what happens when we try to put wobbly pastry into a wobbly rubber baking tin. Oh yes; collapse on a scale not seen since.. well, quite recently if we're talking finance, but. Oh grief. I've just looked at the oven. The sides have fallen into the middle. Using only your skill and ingenuity... I've been and poked it, but the sides are determined to lie down and sunbathe. I poked the leeks too: it does indeed take an hour to sweat them down. I do hope the filling won't turn out to be too runny. Oh, and you prick the bottom of pastry cases with a fork to stop them blowing giant bubbles on their base. Doing it halfway through cooking is definitely not a cool idea (but is fun watching the bubbles go down).
The pastry case is cooked. And shot. It's more of a bent pastry saucer; my first official kitchenblog disaster (takes bow/curtsey). But the leek filling is good. I was tempted to eat the tarragon on its own. I can't remember having ever cooked with tarragon, although I may have grown it sometime (I love just having herbs around to smell in the garden), and it's a much nicer smell and taste than I was expecting. I've put the filling over/around the tart bas(in), and I'll see what happens over the next half hour. Apart from me getting hungrier, of course.
It's done. Smells good but I've left it for a while to cool (there being no pastry edges to keep the filling in). And the verdict is. The tastes work really well together: the tarragon, the leek, the parmesan (I put it in, even though it was optional) is a really good combination. But it's a bit... erm.. squidgy. I suspect I didn't cook it quite long enough (out at 35 mins on a 30-40 min timing because I was worried about overcooking it). I think I like the recipe, but I don't think I've done it justice this time.
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