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Home/Mushrooms/Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart

Wild mushrooms, baby leeks, fresh rosemary,  and aged cheddar suspended in savory custard, encased in flaky pastry.

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart | LunaCafeEvery Saturday morning, almost year-round, I hit the table of foraged mushrooms that begin my photo shoot through Portland Farmers Market.

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart | LunaCafeRecently I succumbed to the hedgehogs. And before I even handed over the moola, my inner muse decided they would make a lovely quiche–AKA open-faced, savory custard tart.

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart | LunaCafeSo then a quick jaunt around the market to see what might be nice with them–and voila, baby leeks and rosemary.

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart | LunaCafeThis is how recipes are created in the OtherWorldly Kitchen–on the fly at the local farmers market. What a fun way to cook.

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart | LunaCafeNow just about everything I’ve discovered over the years about making a PERFECT quiche is already included in Baby Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart.

Ditto for PERFECT short crust pastry in Quick & Easy, Flaky, All Butter, Short-Crust Pastry.

So no need to reiterate those techniques in depth here. If you want to master the art of the savory custard tart, I encourage you to read them both.

Hedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart | LunaCafeHedgehog Mushroom, Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart

Hedgehog mushrooms have a lovely, almost mysterious, nutty flavor, which is noticeably deeper than typical cultivated button mushrooms. The only downside I discovered to using them is that they disintegrate if overcooked.

9- to 10-inch, deep-dish, partially prebaked LunaCafe’s Quick & Easy, Flakey, All Butter, Short-Crust Pastry or your favorite pastry (4-6 cup capacity)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium-large leeks, trimmed and sliced crosswise (white and light green portions only) (9 ounces or 4 cups sliced)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 ounces cleaned, trimmed, sliced hedgehog or chanterelle mushrooms
2 cups cream (or half and half)
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons, peeled, minced garlic
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary
3 ounces grated, aged cheddar (about 2 loosely packed cups)
1 ounce finely grated Parmesan (about 1/3 cup)
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste

  1. Allow the partially baked pastry (in the pan) to cool on a wire rack.
  2. To prepare oven, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F.
  3. To prepare leeks, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter and slowly cook the leek and garlic until translucent and tender, without browning. Remove from the heat.
  4. To prepare mushrooms, in a small sauté pan, over medium-high heat, melt the butter and quickly cook the mushrooms to release their liquid. After a minute or so, they will have shrunk considerable. With a slotted spoon, remove to a bowl. (Don’t overcook hedgehogs, as they tend to disintegrate.) Reduce the liquid in the pan to 2 tablespoons and pour into a small bowl. Reserve.
  5. To prepare custard, in a 4-cup glass measuring cup, whisk cream, eggs, garlic, and rosemary until eggs are well incorporated. Season custard well with salt and pepper. Taste to ensure the seasoning is adequate.
  6. To fill tart, sprinkle a little cheese over the bottom of the pastry shell (melting it quickly under a broiler if you like, to help ensure a crisp bottom crust), and then evenly distribute the leek mixture over the top.
  7. Pour custard over leek mixture, taking care not to overfill. Leave ¼- to ½-inch top edge clearance. (If there is custard remaining, fill a ramekin or two and bake in a bain-marie at a later time.)
  8. Sprinkle top of quiche with remaining cheese.
  9. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes. The top will look set but will NOT be fully domed at the center. Overbaking the custard causes it to curdle.
  10. Remove quiche from oven and cool on a wire rack, allowing at least 10 minutes of set-up time before cutting. (Actually, quiche tastes best when cooled just a bit.)
  11. Remove rim of quiche pan and cut into eight wedges to serve. (Because of the delicate pastry, I find it better to cut through the top edge with a serrated bread knife, changing to a flat-bladed knife to finish the bottom of each slice. This way the pastry doesn’t break or shatter.

Serves 6-8.

More LunaCafe Savory Pies & Tarts

  • Baby Greens, Green Garlic & Garlic Chive Tarts
  • Baby Leek, Cheddar & Rosemary Tart
  • Quick & Easy, Flaky, All Butter, Short-Crust Pastry
  • Savory Apple Tart with Onion, Cheddar & Blue Cheese
  • Yakima Valley Artichoke Appetizer


Copyright 2015-2021 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Written by:
Susan S. Bradley
Published on:
June 28, 2021

Categories: Mushrooms, Quiche, Savory Pies & Tarts, Spring Fever, Wild MushroomsTags: leeks, mushrooms, quiche, Recipes, savory tart, tart

About Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Whitney

    June 29, 2021 at 2:37 am

    Yum!

    • Susan S. Bradley

      July 13, 2021 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you! 🙂

  2. Cynthia

    March 24, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    I love any and all mushrooms! They’re so good for you too! I’m sure the rosemary brings out great flavors too!

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 24, 2015 at 10:20 pm

      Cynthia, couldn’t agree more. Thanks! 🙂

  3. Meagan

    March 23, 2015 at 11:00 am

    This is a tart that could be eaten for lunch or breakfast. Love it.

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 24, 2015 at 10:20 pm

      Meagan, yes definitely, thanks! 🙂

  4. susan

    March 23, 2015 at 10:47 am

    I love chanterelles. They\’re so beautiful – but I don\’t think I\’ve seen hedgehog mushrooms. I\’ll have to look for them. Your tart looks like a wonderful brunch dish!

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 24, 2015 at 10:27 pm

      Susan, thanks so much! 🙂

  5. Heather / girlichef

    March 23, 2015 at 6:26 am

    I haven’t seen hedgehogs around here, I wonder if there are any in this area. I will check out my farmer’s market, because I love the sound of them. And this tart sounds like the perfect thing for a spring brunch!

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 24, 2015 at 10:28 pm

      Heather, thanks! 🙂

  6. Christina

    March 22, 2015 at 10:54 pm

    Oh, I do so love any sort of mushroom, and I adore leeks! What a great combination of flavors and really perfect for any meal!

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 24, 2015 at 10:33 pm

      Christina, thanks! 🙂

  7. Sabrina Modelle

    March 22, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    Susan, this looks so good. You’ve got some of my very favorite foods in that quiche. I just planted a ton of leeks, I don’t feel like I can ever have enough of them. Great recipe.

  8. Dorothy ShockinglyDelicious

    March 22, 2015 at 9:27 am

    Suspended and encased? I am drooling!

  9. Anne

    March 22, 2015 at 5:14 am

    This is the first time I’ve ever heard of hedgehog mushrooms! But what a lovely combination. I’ve got a few different varieties of mushroom under cultivation, and am hoping they’ll crop this year; I can’t wait to try this with the leeks and rosemary from the garden, whether or not the mushrooms decide to cooperate.

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 22, 2015 at 8:41 am

      Anne, you have mushrooms under cultivation? And homegrown leeks and mushrooms? I’m impressed! 🙂

  10. cristina

    March 20, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    I’m envious of your farmers’ markets in Portland. Luv all the ingredients in this delicious tart and how you’ve described it in the title. 🙂

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 21, 2015 at 10:18 am

      Cristina, thank you! I’m heading to the farmers market right now as it turns out. 🙂

    • Susan S. Bradley

      March 22, 2015 at 8:43 am

      Cristina, thank you! 🙂

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Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy. Read More…

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