If you are looking for a last-minute idea for a starter this New Year’s Eve, look no further. This Speck, Brie, and Blue Cheese Tart is a super easy and delicious option. Serve it along with a nice glass of red to kick-start the New Year!
I love cheese, I really do. I normally try to contain my love of cheese, limiting myself to a sprinkle of Parmesan on a pasta dish and a bit of feta crumbled on top of a salad. Not because I think cheese is evil and shouldn’t compare on your table. But because I find it so addictive, if I start buying it routinely I will just live off it. Cheese is literally a drug for me. In winter though, and particularly throughout the festive period, II indulge in my cheese obsession. Also because I spend Christmas time with my family and they are just as obsessed (I am talking a “cheese box” full of different types of cheese which appears on our table at every meal. Yes you read it right: Every. Single. Meal.). It’s nuts, but it’s delicious too.
This recipe is one of my mum’s quick and easy recipes that never fail to impress. And that features a lot of cheese. I find it very wintery and perfect for cold and dark nights. Particularly with a nice glass of red wine on the side. It is one of her most-requested starts for when we have people over, and it couldn’t be easier. So this time around I helped her make it and in the meantime, documented the whole process in her kitchen for Onceuponarecipe (hence why the decor and serve ware are totally different).
What I really like about this tart is that the flavours are well balanced. Speck (or Prosciutto if you can’t find any speck) has some nice smoky undertones to it. Blue cheese as well packs a punch. Hence why we don’t just go for blue cheese, using instead a good amount of brie to help mellow and complement all the other flavours going on here. But of course, if you love blue cheese, feel free to use more than what we used. It will still turn out delicious.
You can also substitute the ingredients, depending of what you have most available. My mum often uses stracchino rather than brie, which is a milder cheese of a similar consistency. However, I find stracchino almost impossible to locate outside Italy. If you are not a fan of brie though, but still feel the combination of flavours going on here, you could always use some mozzarella. It’s mild, creamy and, as we all know, melts a treat!
For what concerns the speck, I already mentioned prosciutto (or Parma ham) as a good substitute. But any dry-cured meat will do. This is another thing I love about this recipe: Not only is it super simple, it also is very much customisable.
So there you have it. A delicious recipe. Super quick. Fully customisable. Only four ingredients. You really have no excuse not to make this just before the year ends.
And on that note, we wish you an amazing 2020!
Ingredients:
200 grams blue cheese
170 grams brie
100 grams speck (or Prosciutto)
1 puff pastry sheet
Instructions:
Preheat the oven at 200 °C.
Take the puff pastry out of the fridge and let it rest for about 10 minutes or so. Roll it out and place it along with is baking sheet on a rectangular baking tin.
Cut the blue cheese and the brie into bite-size chunks and place them(alternating them) onto the puff pastry sheet until it’s covered. However do leave a gap between the blue cheese and the edges of the puff pastry sheet, as you will need to fold them later.
Now cover the cheese with thin strips of speck (or whatever alternative charcuterie you fancy). At this point simply fold the edges, creating a sort of frame and thereby sealing the cheese and speck filling.
Lightly press a fork all over the puff pastry “frame”. This not only looks great for presentation purposes but also prevents the pastry from swelling and possibly exploding whilst baking. So yeah, don’t skip this bit.
Transfer the tart to the oven and bake for around 20 minutes or until the puff pastry is nice and golden. Serve with a nice glass of red.
This Speck, Brie, and Blue Cheese Tart can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
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