my name is audrey, i’ll be writing a recipe-related column every other wednesday, and giving jaime a bit of a break. i’m calling the name of my column ’scratch’ for the obvious reasons, i suppose; i enjoy the etymology of the phrase, “from the scratch drawn in the ground serving as the starting line of a foot race. a runner ’starting from scratch’ received no handicap, but started at the beginning of the course.”  a quick introduction of myself for my first post: i am a fairly recent graduate of the pastry program at the french culinary institute in soho, i work as a baker in a bakery in red hook, i am currently typing with a huge bandaid on my left index finger from attempting to bone a red snapper on friday. i do make everything, at least as much as possible, from scratch; my dream is to one day live in a house where i can have a yard to grow my veggies, keep chickens, and have bees.

on to the recipe! i debated making something that is an old standby, to guarantee success for my first post, but decided instead to try something i’ve seen on tastespotting and been itching to attempt. i changed the recipe around a bit; you can view the original here.

1 pie dough (you can use store bought or this simple recipe: 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 stick unsalted butter (cut into cubes), pinch of salt, a couple T ice water. you can either just cut the butter into the salt and flour with two knives [the method i used before i had a food processor] and then sprinkle in the water until you can scrunch it all together into a ball with your hands, or pulse the butter into the flour and add water little by little until it comes together.)

1 medium sized roasted beet, golden or regular

6-8 oz crumbled goat cheese

2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted (if you want)

2 leeks, sliced and cleaned

2 T butter

1/4 cup of dry white wine

a dash or two of dried fennel

6 eggs

1/4 cup half and half
salt and pepper
a few leaves of fresh sage

if you bought the crust, you’re set. if you’re making it, wrap it in plastic and set it in the fridge for a half hour or so before rolling it out. butter a pie pan before doing so, then roll it out and place it inside. do with the edges what you will. you’ll want to pre-bake it – use parchment paper to line the thing and weigh it down with what you have – dried beans, lentils, pie weights, if you have ‘em. you really want to fill the whole thing or it will just blow up/collapse while it’s pre-baking. pop it in the oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes, until it starts to set. take it out and wait for it.

roast the beet. this takes awhile, depending on the size. turn your oven to 375 and wrap the beet, cleaned but unpeeled, in foil and let it cook for about an hour. once it’s easy to stick a fork into, it’s done. let it cool, then the skin should slip right off if it’s cooked through. once it’s cool, you’ll want it to be in thin slices. i used a mandolin to cut mine but a sharp knife would do just as well. set aside.

the leeks! they must be cleaned so carefully because these things are always super dirty for some reason. once they’re well washed, thinly slice them into little circles. start them sauté-ing in the butter, then add the white wine once the butter is all melted, and the fennel once the leeks are almost transparent. meanwhile, stick the pinenuts (if you’re using them) into a toaster oven or the oven you used for the beet. keep an eye on ‘em – once they start to brown, take them out.

once the leeks are soft and transparent, take them off the heat and let them chill out. start to lay the beets inside the pie crust however you’d like -it’s fun if they’re pretty but it’s tasty regardless. put the leeks on top of that. whisk the eggs with the half and half and some salt and pepper (use your judgement – i like things very salty so i add a lot, and i used white pepper and black pepper in this.) pour this over the leeks and beet. top with goat cheese (again, as much as you want – i used more than called for because i figure you can’t really have too much.) add pinenuts and the herbs.

bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or so. the crust should be golden around the edges and it shouldn’t wobble much when you shake it, and will probably be just so slightly domed in the middle. let it cool for ten minutes or so and then voila!

it’s a lot of work, and i have to admit while i was making it i was doubtful it would be worth it. it is. especially if you are a leek/beet lover – it’s killer.