Tardenois Leek Flamiche
A generous savory Picardy tart: a golden crust filled with leeks melted in butter, bound with cream and eggs. The warm dish of northern family gatherings, fragrant and comforting.
A generous savory Picardy tart: a golden crust filled with leeks melted in butter, bound with cream and eggs. The warm dish of northern family gatherings, fragrant and comforting.
Before marble and stone, there were Sundays in the Tardenois. My mother would melt the garden leeks very slowly in butter, without letting them brown — that's the whole secret, patience. We'd line the pastry, bind with cream and eggs, and the flamiche would turn golden in the bread oven. My brother Paul and I would circle it like two hungry children. That's a dish that smells of home, and I often miss home.
- •Leeks — a bunch (main filling)
- •Butter — a good lump (cooking, richness)
- •Fresh cream — a pot (binder)
- •Eggs — two or three (binder)
- •Flour — enough (pastry)
- •Salt, pepper, nutmeg — to taste (seasoning)
Tardenois Leek Flamiche
A generous savory Picardy tart: a golden crust filled with leeks melted in butter, bound with cream and eggs. The warm dish of northern family gatherings, fragrant and comforting.
Why this dish? Camille was born in Fère-en-Tardenois, in the Aisne, on the edge of Picardy. Leek flamiche is THE savory Picardy tart for feast days and family Sundays. Before Paris and Rodin, it is the taste of Claudel childhood, of Sundays in the countryside with her brother Paul.
Before marble and stone, there were Sundays in the Tardenois. My mother would melt the garden leeks very slowly in butter, without letting them brown — that's the whole secret, patience. We'd line the pastry, bind with cream and eggs, and the flamiche would turn golden in the bread oven. My brother Paul and I would circle it like two hungry children. That's a dish that smells of home, and I often miss home.
Ingredients (period version)
- Leeks — a bunch (main filling)
- Butter — a good lump (cooking, richness)
- Fresh cream — a pot (binder)
- Eggs — two or three (binder)
- Flour — enough (pastry)
- Salt, pepper, nutmeg — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Leeks (white parts) — 6 large (main filling)
- Butter — 60 g (cooking, richness)
- Thick crème fraîche — 200 ml (binder)
- Eggs — 3 (binder)
- Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) — 1 (250 g flour, 125 g butter, water, salt) (base)
- Salt, pepper, nutmeg — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Prepare (or roll out) shortcrust pastry and line a tart pan. Chill.
- Finely slice the white parts of the leeks. Cook them gently in butter over low heat for 20-25 minutes until very tender, without browning.
- Beat the eggs with the cream, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Mix the melted leeks into the egg-cream mixture and pour onto the pastry base.
- Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 30-35 minutes until golden and set. Serve warm.
How it was made : The flamiche (from *flamique*, a Picard word for 'cake') has long been attested in northern France and Picardy. Originally baked in the bread oven while still warm after the batch, on a leavened dough, it was varied according to garden vegetables — leek remaining the queen of feast days.
The contemporary twist : A few strips of crispy fried leek on top for contrast, or individual tartlets for a buffet.
Camille Claudel · Charactorium