Mont St. Benoit

With Easter fast approaching, we are all starting to think about the what to serve for the family get-together.  Perhaps some of you are planning a big dinner but one of the most enjoyable ways to spend Easter is with a brunch and today I am going to post a recipe for a wonderful savory tart that would be perfect for that occasion.  I am using in this tart some Mont St. Benoit, a mild Swiss-style cheese from our Belle Province, Quebec specifically from the Abbaye St Benoit in the Lac-du-Benoit district in the Eastern Townships.  I think that it is appropriate that we are using a cheese made by monks for a feast celebrating Easter, n'est pas?

I couldn't get a really good picture of this cheese, being photgenic isn't one of its finest qualities!  In the picture to the left we can see the frommagerie at the Abbaye and the racks full of the wheels of Mont St. Benoit.  This is a beautiful cheese, the palest of yellow-white in colour and full of holes like a Swiss, yet with a creamy texture and a finish that is nutty in flavour - mmmmm!  In my opinion, a far superior cheese than, dare I say it, an acutal Swiss from Switzerland.  The recipe that I am giving you is one that I have modified a little from one that was given to me by a lovely French customer at the cheese booth that I worked at at the Waterloo Farmer's Market (now defunct and much missed).  Perhaps you would like to serve this with a fruit salad and a charcuterie and cheese platter and don't forget the brioche!  If you would like to ensure your brioche order, please get it to me as soon as possible for pick up on Saturday, April 3rd.  A little reminder that I carry prosciutto and cappcolla from Mario Pingue and wine-infused salami (pinot grigio, rose and chianti) for those charcuterie platters as well as an amazing selection of great cheeses for your Easter table!  I am also carrying freshly roasted coffee from The Brown Dog Cafe in St. George and Paris, so be sure to come into C'est Cheese Please! for all your Easter feasting supplies!  Now for the recipe:

Rustic Tart with Caramelized Onion & Mont St Benoit Cheese

• Several good sized onions, the more, the merrier but at least 4 sliced (the onions can be regular cooking ones)
• Olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• A bit of brown sugar (1 tsp per 5 onions as a gauge)
• Some thyme

Heat the olive oil in your skillet over a medium-high heat and add onions, stir to coat and allow to gently sauté. After about 10 minutes, add the salt and sugar and then let the onions gently sauté allowing them to stick a little to the skillet to brown and then move them to prevent burning. You may want to turn the heat down to prevent burning. This caramelizing process will take about 1 hour to fully develop that rich flavour – maybe you better make extra to accommodate the “tastings”! If there is a lot of browning at the bottom of the skillet at the end, add a little balsamic vinegar or red wine to deglaze and get all that flavour into the onions. Add the thyme at the end, start with ½ teaspoon and add more if you would like.

Tart

• ½ of a package of frozen puff pastry
• 1 small container of cottage cheese
• 4 eggs beaten
• 150 grams of Mont St. Benoit, shredded
• Freshly grated black pepper & salt to taste
• Nutmeg & some sprigs of thyme to garnish

Allow the puff pastry to thaw in the fridge (do this while you prepare the caramelized onions) and then roll out to form a rough circle. Combine the cottage cheese, beaten eggs (reserve a little to brush on the outside), salt, pepper & nutmeg. Spread the caramelized onions over half of the pastry leaving a ½ edge around the outside. Spread the cottage cheese mixture over the top of the onions and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Fold the puff pastry over the filling and seal the edges. Brush the top of the puff pastry with the reserved egg. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Dust the top of the baked tart with a little nutmeg and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Bon Appetite!