Taste the Rainbow: Gerard's Mustard Tart - Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

This is a truly beautiful tart that is delicious just out of the oven, warm, at room temperature, or even slightly chilled. The distinct flavor of the mustard hits your palate, but does not overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients. It's a keeper for me....... big yum!

Ingredients

3 carrots, trimmed and peeled
3 thin leeks, white and light green parts only, cut lengthwise in half and washed
2 rosemary sprigs
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons creme fraiche or 6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons grainy mustard, preferably French ( I used Trader Joe's)
salt and pepper
1 9- to 9 1/2-inch tart shells, made from Dorie's Basic French Tart Dough, partially baked and cooled ( I used store bought)

Directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Cut the carrots and leeks into slender batons or sticks: First cut the carrots lengthwise in half, then place the halves cut side down on the cutting board and cut crosswise in half or cut into chunks about 3 inches long. Cut the pieces into 1/8- to ¼-inch-thick matchsticks. If your carrots were fat and you think your matchsticks don’t look svelte enough, cut them lengthwise in half. Cut the leeks in the same way.

Fit a steamer basket into a saucepan. Pour in enough water to come almost up to the steamer, cover, and bring to a boil. Drop the carrots, leeks, and 1 rosemary sprig into the basket, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the vegetables and pat them dry; discard the rosemary sprig.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together with the crème fraîche or heavy cream. Add the mustard, season with salt and white pepper — mustard has a tendency to be salty, so proceed accordingly, and whisk to blend. Taste and see if you want to add a little more of one or the other mustards.

Put the tart pan on the lined baking sheet and pour the filling into the crust. Arrange the vegetables over the filling — they can go in any which way, but they’re attractive arranged in spokes coming out from the center of the tart. Top with the remaining rosemary sprig and give the vegetables a sprinkling of salt and a couple of turns of the peppermill.

Bake the tart for about 30 minutes, or until it is uniformly puffed and lightly browned here and there and a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature (or lightly chilled).

I had to cover my outer edges of my pie shell for the last 15 minutes of baking. It was still really delicious, even though my edges were a bit dark for my liking.