Peppery Blue Cheese Tart with Caramelised Fennel
Peppery Blue Cheese Tart with Caramelized Fennel
I’m totally enamoured with the unconventional recipe for shortcrust I posted a few months ago. It’s liberated me from a tart free world. The fact that it makes a big enough quantity for two 30cm tarts makes it perfect in my eyes, one for now and one to freeze in the tin, unbaked, for another meal.
On a recent rainy day, with no desire to leave the house I decided to use a frozen tart case for a lunch dish. I’d bought a wedge of blue cheese with a tart in mind but hadn’t refined my thoughts further. Blue cheese has a natural affinity with fruit, but I do not, so I opted to add just a touch of restrained sweetness with some meltingly soft caramelised fennel.
The combination of buttery pastry, buttery fennel and rich blue cheese screamed for some restraint, so I chose skimmed milk for the custard.
I really underestimated the synergy of the flavours I was combining. The subtle sweetness of the fennel, the bite of the black pepper and the rich sharp blue cheese were wonderful together.
Don’t buy expensive blue cheese to make this tart and choose a crumbly rather than a creamy variety. Remember to keep some of the feathery green tops off the fennel for garnish.
Peppery Blue Cheese Tart with Caramelised Fennel
1 X 30cm shallow tart tin lined with shortcrust and baked blind. I used this recipe.
2 small bulbs of fennel trimmed and finely sliced
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
200g blue cheese
4 large eggs
250mls skimmed milk
2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper extra
Trim and thinly slice the fennel, then rinse under running water.
In a small pan melt the butter, add the wet fennel, then cover the pan tightly and lower the heat.
Sweat the fennel until it is meltingly soft, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Turn the heat up, add the sugar and vinegar and stir the fennel until the sugar has melted and all the moisture has evaporated.
Stir in the cracked black pepper. Allow to cool a little.
Pre heat the oven to 160C.
Crack the eggs into a measuring jug, then add enough milk to double the volume. You need about 500mls. Whisk until the eggs and milk are well combined.
Spread the fennel over the base of the blind baked pastry.
Crumble the blue cheese evenly over the fennel leaving some bigger chunks.
Carefully pour the custard over the cheese.
Scatter over the remaining 2 teaspoons of cracked pepper.
Bake the tart until the custard in the centre is set, 20-25 minutes. The time will depend on your oven.
Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for about 30 minutes.
Remove from the tin and serve garnished with some feathery fennel fronds.
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24 comments on “Peppery Blue Cheese Tart with Caramelised Fennel”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Delicious looking tart Sandra and love the flavor combination of blue cheese and fennel 🙂
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Pingback: Caramelized Fennel and Gorgonzola Tartlets | Stefan's Gourmet Blog
Thanks for the generous shout-out Stefan. I’m pleased I was able to inspire you to try this flavour combination, it sound to me as you enjoyed it as much as we did. I’ll try your pastry recipe soon, like the idea of eliminating some fat, especially when there are so any other rich ingredients in the tart
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I’m sorry if you get this twice, my first attempt seems to have gone off into the ether. A big thanks for the kind shout-out, and I’m glad you found the fennel and blue cheese combination as pleasing as we did. I must try your olive oil pastry, I like that idea.
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Fantastic tart, Sandra. I am a fan of this sort of food + anything made with blue cheese (particularly if it is a Stilton!). Glad you have found a way to end a tartless existence.
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Thanks Debi. Stilton commands a fairly high price here because of import duty so it’s too good to use in a tart, but the generic Aussie blue I chose did a fine job. 🙂
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Love fennel and have never once thought to pair it with blue cheese, inspired!
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Thanks Cheery, it was a fab pairing, I really underestimated how good it would be. I hope the grey clouds are clearing😘
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I love rainy days when I don’t need to leave the house because everything we need is already here. And blue cheese is one of my favourite foods. I developed a taste very late in life for fennel. I have some growing in a pot soon to go in the garden. Perfect combo. The shortcrust pastry recipe also is fabulous. I’m working my way through trying new cooking things. Pastry is on that list.
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The pastry recipe is a beauty. Strong and crisp with a buttery flavour, probably better suited to a savoury rather that a sweet tart. I become more of a homebody as I age, rain, hail or shine…
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Sandra, I’m sure a little bit of saliva just escaped the corner of my mouth. This sounds amazing. I printed out your shortcrust pastry recipe and have not had time to try it but I’m very keen. I, too, dislike a tartless existence. What brand blue cheese did you use? The flavours in this do sound amazing. Thank you.
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Thanks Ardys. It was a seriously good combination. I can’t remember the brand of cheese, it was a wedge of generic foil wrapped blue from the display fridge in Coles, sharp and crumbly rather than creamy and subtle
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Lovely flavour combinations, and what a gorgeous looking tart!
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Thanks Steve, the flavour marriage far exceeded my expectations
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What an outstanding tart! Well done you, I never know what to do with fennel.
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Thanks Bernice, fennel is an amazing ingredient, I’m using a lot to replace onion, it develops the same sweetness and I love the aniseed undertones
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You had me by the opening picture! That looks amazing.
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Thanks Linda…
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Love this, Sandra! I am definitely going to make this. I make caramelized fennel by cooking more fennel for 2 hours or so, without using sugar. I need more fennel that way, as it reduces by quite a lot.
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Thanks Stefan. Caramelized fennel adds an amazing dimension to blue cheese, i hope you like it too.
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Made a version of this and turned out great! Post to follow. Thanks for the inspiration, Sandra!
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You’re welcome Stefan, I look forward to seeing your interpretation
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I only had to read the recipe to start salivating! Blue cheese and almost anything in a tart is my idea of a bloody good time 🙂
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Hehe, birds of a feather. My grandparents introduced me to gorgonzola when I was about 4 yrs old and my love affair with blue cheese has never waned. It was magical with the fennel
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