Love and Olive Oil

Down on the Farm (Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart)

Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart

I think I’ve made it pretty obvious I’m a proponent of eating local whenever and wherever possible. But just how often to you get to eat something, and say, I saw the farmer dig up these potatoes yesterday?

While we went to the farm to pick a few blueberries (the berries are too time intensive and scarce to deliver to CSA members, so they invite anyone interested to come pick their own), we ended up getting a full tour of the place. From fields of lettuce and beets to streams and outbuildings near onion fields, it just might be the most beautiful, scenic farm I’ve ever seen.

Digging Up Potatoes

Those are potatoes with a view! We picked up our share the following day, and sure enough, potatoes. Always nice to know exactly where your food comes from. And I mean EXACTLY.

Eating Fresh Blackberries with the Barefoot Farmer

This is Jeff (and Taylor), enjoying some fresh blackberries right off the vine. He’s also known as The Barefoot Farmer, for obvious reasons (and yes, he even drives the tractor barefoot). We’ve been enjoying his handiwork all summer. Tasty.

The potatoes in particular have been plentiful. So along with the french fries and hash browns and mashers, we’ve been looking for more interesting ways to use them. This potato and blue cheese tart was a definite treat. An indulgence. It’s creamier than a quiche, the rich filling and sharp blue cheese surrounding the delicate red potatoes and making them the star of the show (and potatoes don’t often get that honor).

Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart

Adapted from Gourmet, via Smitten Kitchen.

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Ingredients:

Tart Shell:
1 1/4 (5 1/2 ounces) cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter, diced
1 large egg

Filling:
1 pound small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
1/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoons finely chopped herb or herbs of your choice, such as a mixture of thyme and rosemary
Fine sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or two knives until it is in very tiny bits. Add one egg and mix with a fork until a dough forms. If this does not happen easily, toss it out onto a counter and knead it together. This dough is rather tough but with a little elbow grease, it does come together nicely.

This dough can also be made a food processor, or in a stand mixer, though I’ve only tried it in a food processor.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan and press to remove any air bubbles. Level the edges, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium saucepan, cover potato slices with water by two inches. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. If the potatoes don’t seem very dry, pat them dry with towels.

Arrange potato slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles around the tart pan. Sprinkle blue cheese over potatoes. Whisk cream and egg yolk together and pour into tart shell, then sprinkle tart with herbs of your choice and salt.

Bake tart on a baking sheet until bubbling and golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack and serve warm or cold. With a big green salad, for balance.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

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26 Comments

  1. This is the third year in a row that I have made this for thanksgiving. It is fantastic and I love it. I must admit, however, that I cheat and use gluten free pie crusts from Whole Foods. I defrost them and then cut the crusts shorter, like a tart. I can’t wait for Thursday!

  2. This recipe was amazing. I did have a little trouble with the tart dough, but I’ve learned that I always have trouble with tart dough, and even if it doesn’t look pretty it tastes amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe, my boyfriend hates sweets (I know, I’m pretty sure he had no childhood) so I’ve been racking my brain for good savory recipes and this one certainly hits the spot. Two big thumbs up from both of us!
    -a.

  3. We belong to the same CSA (Barefoot Farmer), but Alan brought berries to our pick-up a few times! Didn’t you sign up or did you just go up there for the fun of it (we did 2 years ago).

    So, what have you been doing with all of your peppers? I’m up to my eyeballs in peppers and need some recipe ideas!

    xo,

    V.W.

  4. We had this tonight. I used baby red and white creamer potatoes. My blue cheese has been in the fridge a while and smelled a little off so I used Parmesan instead and it was great!

  5. Last weekend my husband and I visited two farms as part of the 5th Annual Central Pennsylvania Farm Tour. (There were 19 participating farms total.) Isn’t it fantastic to get right to the source of your favorite foods? The Barefoot Farmer looks like quite a character, and this tart looks yummy!

  6. Yum! I think I know what’s for dinner tonight!

  7. We are huge, HUGE fans of your blog. I visit almost everyday when I post to our blog. Today I had to comment on the appeal of this tart. I cannot wait to make it. Thank you for sharing your kitchen.

  8. The barefoot farmer looks like he’d have a lot of stories to tell and a lot of good advice on anything related to farming! ha This tart look delicious.. I like the idea of a savory tart I just made savory scones this weekend if you’d like to check em out :)

  9. I love this post! I love the blueberries with the Barefoot Farmer, and I love your tart!

  10. LOVE this story! I just visited an organic farm and I had no idea about looking for the dead vine to see if the potatoes were ready. We also were able to dig up some potatoes that grew too close to the surface to see that they then are green and uneatable. The whole thing was great.

    This recipe looks amazing and I think I will save this for my husband’s b-day as what could go better with a piece of steak on the Green Egg than these potatoes?? You had me my attention with blue cheese and sold my with heavy cream:-)

    -Liza

  11. This looks awesome! Question: when you all make cupcakes and things like this, do you save them, give them away or eat it all up?

    • We are pretty darn good at cooking for 4. We get dinner and lunch the next day. So most of what we cook we eat ourselves (this one we did eat for a few days afterwords, if I recall). When I make cupcakes I usually bake a half dozen at a time, or if I have to make a dozen, we’ve got lots of friends and neighbors more than willing to take some off our hands. :)

  12. I bookmarked this same recipe from SK. Looks heavenly.

  13. Just perfect! food doesn’t get any better than this and I love the background story :)

  14. I love this post! I work in agriculture, so it’s nice to see someone praise the American farmer! I just might have to try this tart too, it looks divine! Does the CSA offer recipes? Have you thought about contributing?

  15. Perfect timing…this looks amazing and I’m drowning in potatoes from my CSA….Can’t wait to make this.

  16. This looks amazing! I am in the midst of a “vegetarian week” and decided to modify the menu to include this for our supper tonight. I am so excited to try it. Thanks for sharing!!

  17. This looks sooooo good! Can’t wait to make it. Thanks for posting yet another amazing recipe!

  18. Your tart looks delicious! I agree that it is nice to know where your food comes from. We are also planning a trip to our CSA farm next weekend. I’m not sure we have a barefoot farmer though! :)

  19. That looks heavenly and I just love the combination of potatoes and blue cheese. I’ve seen that farmer on Tennessee Crossroads! So cool you got a tour of that gorgeous farm. You’re prompting me to get up early one weekend and do the same. Great post!

  20. This looks delicious! I have some potatoes, and I think blue cheese. I might be tempted to give the recipe a try this week.

  21. This is a wonderful and very farm-appropriate way to use your share from the CSA. Sounds like a great experience to get to meet the barefoot farmer and see the entire farm! So, what are you going to make with those blueberries? :)

    • Funny thing is.. we only came home with a handful or so of blueberries. :) not enough to really do anything with them, except eat them fresh!

  22. Your tart looks amazing,,I can almost taste it! I’ll have to try it one of these days.

  23. I love the pics of the barefoot farmer! How cute is he??! Your tart looks so rustic and sooooo fantastic!

  24. Wow – this tart looks amazing — and so simple!

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