Continuing our exploration of French cooking shows online, we came across this recipe for tarte au Comté by the chef Jean-François Piège in his video series ‘Tombez dans le Piège’ (which translates to ‘Fall into a trap’ – a witty word play with the chef’s surname) in Le Point. Piège was impressed by the Comté tart that Pierre Overnoy served him during a wine tasting in Pupillin, Jura. This is Piège’s attempt to recreate it.
The tart consists of a rich and buttery dough, closely resembling brioche but with a more delicate touch. It’s filled with a Comté cream infused with Vin Jaune, a classic Jura pairing. We decided to substitute the Vin Jaune with a 30-year-old Amontillado from Lustau. The long biological ageing of the Sherry superbly complemented the 24-month-aged Comté we used, accentuating the tart’s intensely nutty and caramelised notes.
Tarte au Comté
Course: RecipesCuisine: French, ModernDifficulty: Easy2
servings30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
- Comté mixture
125g double cream
200g Comté 24 months aged, grated
1 egg
1tbsp Vin Jaune or Amontillado (easier to find, cheaper and sometimes even better)
Black pepper
- Pâte à brioche
500g bread flour
10g salt
75g golden caster sugar
15g instant yeast
75ml whole milk
200g eggs
300g unsalted butter, cold and cut in cubes
Directions
- Comté mixture
- Mix all the ingredients until a cohesive mass is obtained. Season with black pepper and set aside.
- Pâte à brioche
- Using a food processor, combine all the dry ingredients and the cold butter and pulse until a sandy mixture is obtained.
- Then pour in the eggs and the milk and process until homogeneous.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured working surface and shape it into a ball. Do not overwork it.
- Let the dough rest in a bowl, covered with cling film or a cloth, for 2.5h at room temperature.
- Then transfer the dough to the fridge and refrigerate for 12h.
- Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 160C.
- Transfer the dough onto a cake tin with the diameter of 25cm.
- Using your finger tips, start stretching the dough gradually to the edge.
- The edge should be thicker than the rest, imagine a pizza.
- Brush the whole surface of the dough with the egg wash.
- Place the dough in a warm place for 15min.
- Bake the dough for 6 to 8min until it will get a bit of colour.
- Take it out of the oven. Place the cheese mixture in the middle of the tart dough and cook for the next 12 to 15min until golden brown.
- Remove the tart from the oven and place it on a wire rack.
- Season with the black pepper and serve immediately. Bon appétit!