Ingredient Spotlight: Fennel - Savory Fennel Creme Tart

Market Fresh Fennel, Photo:NK

The clocks have moved forward, the days are longer, and the first day of Spring is upon us. 

Not a moment too soon. Overcome with warm weather anticipation, I set out yesterday to create a beautiful spring-ready appetizer that celebrates the bounty of seasonal produce that lies ahead.  

Our Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring dish uses a versatile veggie that bridges the gap. It also happens to be a personal favorite of mine - Fennel.  

Fennel is an amazing vegetable that hits its peak in mid Winter but is available from Fall all the way to early Spring. Another fun fact- Fennel is edible from top to bottom. The fronds, or delicate leafy greens atop the stalks, are lovely and herbaceous. They also make a beautiful garnish. Fennel's large white Bulbs, with the exception of their hard inner core, offer a mild licorice flavor and pleasant crunch when consumed raw. 

Once cooked, the Bulbs sweeten considerably and offer a subtle flavor that works with a wide variety of pairings. 

Cooked Fennel tastes, at least to me, like spring feels - warm, sweet, mellow. Ahhhhhh. 

I hope you like today's incredibly easy yet impressive Savory Fennel Creme Tart as much as we did. It's perfect warm or at room temperature and makes for a great make-ahead party offering or holiday appetizer. It may even pop up at our Easter celebration.
Enjoy!

Finished Fennel Creme Tart, Photo: NK

 

Fennel, Photo: NK 

Fennel Creme Fraiche Tart
Serves 3-4 as an Appetizer

1/3 Cup Creme Fraiche
2 Tablespoons Half and Half
1 Tablespoon minced Fennel Fronds
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper 
1 Egg, well beaten

Oil or Butter for greasing your baking sheet

1 Large Fennel with Stalk attached - Fronds (leafy tops) pinched off and minced (1 Tablespoon worth) and Bulb cut away (any bruised skin shaved off and discarded). Save some additional Fronds for garnish.

1/4 Cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry, fully defrosted. (Puff Pastry usually comes two sheets to a package so if you like, you can easily double this recipe) *Be sure to cover with saran while defrosting to prevent drying.

Flour for dusting the Dough

Method:

Scoring and Folding the Puff Pastry Dough, Photo: NK

Defrost Puff Pastry for about 30 to 40 minutes. 
It should be room temperature. 

Preheat the oven to 390.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cut off the Fennel Stalk and set aside. Add the Fennel Bulb to the boiling water and continue to cook for 15 minutes.

When Fennel is done, remove it and rinse with cold water. Dry the outside thoroughly and slice horizontally as thinly as possible. The slices will look roughly like rings. Discard the circles of hard inner core that you find. Take the remaining slices of fennel and pat dry with paper towel. Set aside.

Pinch in corners well and press into tart base, Photo: NK

Lightly grease a baking sheet with sides with butter or a tiny bit of Oil. 

Prepare Creme Filling by mixing the first six ingredients. 

To Prepare the Puff Pastry Dough, Flour a surface lightly and lay the Dough down. 

Arrange the Sliced Fennel, Photo: NK

Sprinkle the top of the Dough with some more flour. 

Cut the top third of the Dough off to form a rectangular shape (though you can also create any shape you choose).

Roll the Dough Lightly with a rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick.

Move the Dough to the baking sheet and trim the edges of the Dough with a knife to make the rectangle more even. 

Add the cream. Don't overfill to prevent spillage, NK

Next, score the Dough all around the rectangle about a centimeter in from the edge.

Fold the scored edges in at a 90 degree angle to form a crust. 

Pinch the corners really well so they stay fused, also pressing the insides of the  corners into the base of the tart. 

Arrange Fennel all over the Tart (as pictured). Next, carefully pour in as much of the Creme as it takes to the cover the Tart (don't overfill). There will likely be some Creme leftover. 

Next, sprinkle Pecorino Romano Cheese 
all over the Tart.

Finish with an additional dash of Black Pepper.

Bake 40 minutes until crust is crispy and golden.

Cool a bit, clean up the Tart edges with a knife if any of the Creme spilled over (*see cook's note below), and garnish with additional Fennel Fronds. Slice, serve, and enjoy! 

The Finished Product - ready to slice! Photo: NK

*Important Cook's Note:  
You may use this same filling with puff pastry fitted in a tart pan or even in a prepared pie crust (though cooking time may change). Because I like to keep this tart nice and thin and prefer to prepare it without the use of a tart pan, there is a chance that some of the filling will flow over the sides of the crust as the tart bakes. This is absolutely ok! If any overflow occurs, simply allow the tart to cool a bit and trace around it with a knife to clean up the edges. It will come out looking just perfect so don't fret!    

Savory Fennel Creme Tart, Photo: NK

In Season: Persimmons - Persimmon Carpaccio with Prosciutto & Manchego

Pear and Prosciutto Carpaccio,  Photo: Martha Stewart.com

Let me let you in on a little secret: when I am serving a multi-course company dinner, my first course is almost always raw or totally make-ahead. Adopting this method for stress free entertaining pays off because it allows you to be calm, cool, and collected as you greet your guests and help them settle in to party mode. Maybe you've prepared to a cold Seafood Cocktail, or perhaps a make-ahead soup. Or maybe you've made my ultimate favorite: Carpaccio. 

I am wild for Carpaccio. I order it everywhere and I love to make it. Carpaccio is a traditional Italian dish featuring thinly sliced raw beef with a dash of oil, lemon, and capers, but in the present day, Carpaccio has come to mean a lot of things. It can be thinly sliced raw fish, cured meat, or even a vegetable, as evidenced by in NK's Tomato Carpaccio. Recipe HERE. One my favorite done-in- a-jiffy versions is Martha's Pear and Prosciutto Carpaccio. Recipe HERE


Carpaccio fits right in with my personal mantra for dinner party hosting: 
Make it easy, make it beautiful, make it special, and make it from the best products you can afford. 

Today's Carpaccio inspiration comes from the food blog I admire most in the world:
Zen Can Cook - click HERE to check it out.

Trust me, Zen really can cook. He's a real-life chef. And a fancy chef at that. Many of his recipes have a high level of difficulty and are replete with exotic, sometimes hard to find ingredients. Additionally, Zen's plating and culinary aesthetic are some of the best in the blogosphere. That said, his blog, at times, runs a bit counter to what we try to do here on Neurotic Kitchen - food that's easy, elegant, accessible and fast. But that doesn't mean we can't adapt some of his simpler dishes, and in this case, I've chosen a Zen recipe that features a novel, in-season ingredient, but one that is not so exotic as to be very hard to find - The Fuyu Persimmon.  

Our slight adaptation of Zen's recipe is, like the original, delicious and super easy. Wait for it........... Fuyu Persimmon Carpaccio with San Daniele Prosciutto, Shaved Manchego, Walnuts, and Pear Balsamic Reduction. Sound good? Oh. Yes.

Before we begin, let's learn a bit about Persimmons and the two major varieties that are available:

All info just below is courtesy of About.com

"Hachiya Persimmons are mouth-puckeringly tart unless absolutely, supremely ripe. Ripe hachiyas are unbelievably soft - and are often almost liquified into a silky smooth pulp inside. They are elongated and oval shaped. They will ripen once picked, so you can let them soften on the kitchen counter until ready to use. Hachiyas are thought of as "baking" persimmons and are commonly peeled and pureed into a pulp to add to baked goods. They add stable moisture and a mild, pumpkin-like flavor to cakes, puddings, and other treats."

Fuyu Persimmon, Photo: NK 

"Fuyu Persimmons are distinguished by their 'flat' bottoms and squat shape. Fuyus should be more orange then yellow and are at their best when just barely a teensy bit soft. They will ripen after picked, so buying rock-hard fuyus and allowing them to ripen at home can be a good strategy. Fuyus are commonly eaten raw, often sliced and peeled and salads. They can also be roasted to great effect. They have a mild, pumpkin-like flavor. Prepare Fuyus by hulling them (cutting out their top and its attached flesh), slicing, and peeling them. 
Remove and discard the large black
seeds as you encounter them." 

Got all that? 
Good! 
Now away we go:

Persimmon Carpaccio with Prosciutto and Manchego
Adapted from Zen Can Cook

Thinly Sliced Fuyu Persimmon, Photo: NK

Serves 4 

Ingredients:
2 Ripe Fuyu Persimmons, peeled
5 Ounces Frisee and Arugula Mix

1/4 Lb Imported Prosciutto

Aged Manchego, shaved (if you buy 1/4 Lb slab it will be more than enough)

1/4 Cup Walnuts, toasted
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil + extra for brushing
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Pear Balsamic Vinegar (regular is fine too)

Method:
Toast Walnuts briefly if you have not already. 

Set a pot over low to medium heat and pour in Pear Balsamic Vinegar. Keep an eye on it and bring Vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is reduced and syrupy. Turn off heat. 

Meanwhile, peel the Persimmons and thinly slice them. You can use a mandoline for this but a sharp knife works well too, especially if the Persimmon is super ripe.

Set 4 to 6 slices of Persimmon on each serving plate, overlapping slightly in a clover shape (see photo above). Brush with a bit of Olive Oil and sprinkle with Salt.

Combine the Lettuce Mix with the Olive Oil and Lemon Juice and season with a bit of Salt and Black Pepper. 

To assemble, place one slice of Prosciutto (folded or flat) over the Persimmon. Sprinkle with Manchego and Walnuts. Place another slice of Prosciutto atop that, and again, sprinkle with Manchego and Walnuts. Finally, place mixed Salad on top of it all and sprinkle with Balsamic Reduction. If not serving immediately, leave off the Balsamic Reduction until ready to serve. 
Enjoy! 

Persimmon Carpaccio, Prosciutto San Daniele, Manchego, Walnuts & Pear Balsamic Reduction, Photo: NK

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