I invented the tart on Rosh HaShannah. The family likes it, so I repeat it every so often, but for Passover of course I needed a flourless crust. Becky T. sent me this recipe, which is basically a potato kugel thinned out and pre-baked to hold its shape.
The tart made a filling side dish, having potatoes and vegetables in one. The crust texture is heavier than that of a conventional pastry crust; moist and chewy. It makes an interesting change from the usual quiche.
Here’s the original mushroom/leek recipe. The kugel crust was made as follows:
Kugel Tart Crust
Ingredients:
1 medium onion
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup matza meal
750 grams potatoes – 4 medium-sized ones
Method:
1. Grate the onion. Set it to drain for 10 minutes. Press any liquid out.
2. Combine the grated onion with salt and matza meal.
3. Grate the potatoes and rinse them in a colander. Drain them very thoroughly.
4. Mix the potatoes into the onion mixture.
5. Press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased pan.
6. Turn the oven on to 105°C – 220°F. Bake the crust for 25 minutes.
7. Remove the crust from the oven, brush it with oil, and bake it another 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are slightly brown.
8. Fill with mushoom/leek mixture and bake about 1/2 hour. As in the Rosh HaShannah recipe, if the vegetables look to be browning too much, cover the surface with tin foil.
The tart looks almost the same as it did on Rosh HaShannah.
For vegetarians, I think that a dairy variation would be tasty. Make a custard of 3 eggs and 1 cup of milk or sour cream and pour the mix over the well-seasoned vegetables. Or simply substitute vegetable stock for the chicken soup.
