Recipe – Leek and Bacon Tart

• Leek and Bacon Tart Recipe, provided by Pastry Chef Riccardo Magni

Riccardo Magni – a professional who has been active for over 20 years in the field of confectionery, chocolate and gelato, known in Italy but also abroad, co-author of the book "Reverse Fusion", published in 2016.
He began his professional career working in the family's confectionery laboratory, alongside his father, Pierpaolo Magni, another master of Italian confectionery. At the beginning, he alternated work in the production laboratory with a professional development program, participating in numerous training courses under the guidance of great teachers from the International Confectionery Schools: Ecole Lenôtre and Bellouet Conseil, France; Richemont, Switzerland; Cast Alimenti and Arte Dolce, Italy.
Accumulating a rich experience in the field and participating in various national and international competitions, he collaborated over the years with various well-known companies in the confectionery-chocolate field, from Italy and from other countries.
He was a member of the Swiss team, participating in the finals of the "Coupe du Monde Pâtisserie 2015 Lyon" competition, where he won second place, in the "Entremet glacé" category.
He has published and continues to publish articles in the most important magazines of the sector.
Currently, Riccardo Magni carries out much more complex activities: consulting and professional training for important companies in this sector, being involved in many projects worldwide, as well as teaching activities in renowned schools in the culinary sector, such as Cast Alimenti, Dado School Pomati, Chef's School Hong Kong, Arte Dolce Rimini, Con Gusto Gourmet Institute Milano, Hangar 78.

The tart consists of the following components:

• Brisé soft dough
• Leek, bacon and cheese filling
• Sauce – glaze

Brisé soft dough

Ingredients:
500 g – Flour (low gluten content)
300 g – Butter
20 g – Salt
100 g – Eggs
100 g – Water

Preparation:
Combine the flour with the soft butter and mix with the paddle, at medium-high speed, until homogenized. Add the salt, eggs and water and continue to mix with the paddle, for incorporation and a perfect homogenization of the dough. Leave to rest, in the refrigerator, for at least 6 hours. Roll out the dough into a sheet with a thickness of 3 mm and leave it in the refrigerator.

Leek, bacon and cheese filling

Ingredients:
1 pc – Leek
100 g – Bacon
25 g – Butter
Salt, black pepper, water
Goat cheese and Parmesan or Grana Padano

Preparation:
Put the diced bacon on the fire and let it brown; add the butter and the leek cut into fine rings; add a little water, salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture simmer on low heat until the leek softens.

Sauce – glaze

Ingredients:
300 g – Eggs
250 g – Cream
250 g – Milk
Salt pepper

Preparation:
Mix the eggs, salt and pepper with a whisk. Add the cream and continue mixing. Add the milk and continue to mix until the composition is completely homogenized. Store in the refrigerator until use.

Final preparation:

Keep in mind that Brisé dough is a special dough, which does not allow the formation of tart bases by cutting strips and mounting them on the inner walls of the frames!

To make the tart bases you need:
- a micro-drilled bezel with the diameter related to the final tart, necessary for the formation and baking of the tart;
- a stainless steel frame having a diameter 4 cm larger than that of the micro-drilled frame, necessary for cutting the disks from the base of the tart;

Note: For optimal heat transfer to the products, but also for uniform baking, it is recommended to use perforated trays, micro-drilled frames and micro-perforated silicone mats. Thus, in addition to perfect baking, you will also get tart bases with the same appearance and characteristics as the edges of the tart. The micro-perforations of the frames for baking tarts help to keep the dough stuck to the edges of the frame and allow an optimal transfer of heat to the product, the baking being perfect and uniform.

Form the bases of the tarts as follows:
1. Cut out discs from the stretched sheet of dough, using the frame with the larger diameter;

2. Position the dough discs inside the micro-drilled frames and form the edges of the tart, by hand, on the walls of the frames;

3. After forming the bases, place in the refrigerator for stabilization and rest;

Bake and finish the tarts:
1. Pre-bake the bases of the tarts, inside the frames, taking care to keep the base straight, at 180°C for 15 minutes.
To keep the base straight, place a piece of baking paper on the surface of the dough disc, on top of which place a frame with a smaller diameter (see image).

2. After the pre-cooking phase, fill with filling:
- apply on the surface of the tart, with brush, a layer of egg and put in the oven for 2 minutes, just to dry this layer;

- add a layer of the filling and sprinkle the pieces of goat cheese over it;
- complete the tart with a layer of the glaze sauce;
- add a final layer of grated Parmesan or Grana Padano on the surface;

3. Finish baking the products at 180°C for 20 minutes.
Decorate the tart with crispy bacon, cherry tomatoes, chives.