Potato Tart with Mint Pea Pesto
This beautiful tart is all the wonderful flavors of spring. It combines an almond mint pea pesto as the base, with beautiful honey vinegar potatoes as the topping. Grate an almond overtop with some herbs and it's a show-stopping, delicious tart.
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- 1 large pot
- 1 small food processor
- 1 9" diameter tart pan
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of all-butter pie crust
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 1 cup english peas
- 1/4 cup raw almonds reserving 2 almonds for garnish
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed
- 1 large potato like russet, yukon gold, etc.
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Prepare and chill the pie crust in the fridge. Chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust into a circle large enough to fit the tart pan. Transfer the crust to the tart pan, press into the edges, remove any excess dough and transfer the crust back to the fridge to chill.
- Blanch the spinach, basil and mint. Squeeze out any excess water.
- In the same boiling water, boil the english peas until they are tender about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to the blanching ice bath.
- Add the spinach, basil, mint, peas, almonds, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of olive oil to a food processor. Season generously with salt and black pepper and process until a chunky mint pesto forms. Add 1-2 tablespoons of ice water to thin it out as needed. Season to taste and set aside.
- Quarter the potato lengthwise. Use a mandolin to slice it into long, thin strips.
- In a large bowl whisk together the honey, vinegar, and another tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and a lot of cracks of black pepper. Toss the potato strips with this mixture, coating them well.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- When the oven is ready, weigh down the tart crust with parchment paper and baking beans and par bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the tart from the oven and spread the pea pesto in an even layer on the bottom. One at a time, roll the potato strips into small loops, layer them in the tart (see blog for images). Season with more black pepper.
- Bake the tart for 40-50 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get a rich dark brown color on top and are cooked through.
- Grate 2 almonds over the tart using a microplane, dot fresh basil and mint on top of the finished tart as well. Slice and serve.