With its sticky rind, soft inside made of raw cow’s milk, and the deliciously haunting barnyard fragrance it leaves on the tip of your fingers, Époisses is the most famous of the French “funky” cheeses and a favorite of mine. Whenever I see it on the “buy it now before it stinks out the store” half-price shelf at Murray’s Cheese I pick up a wheel. I love to let it come to room temperature then drag a crusty crust of bread through its gooey goodness. If I have more time I’ll make Époisses Toast. However, this practice sometimes leads to leftovers.
Leftover Époisses? Yikes! Once that rind is broken, you better use that cheese if you plan on using your kitchen anytime soon. It can be that funky.
So what to do with so much delicious stink in a pinch?
Époisses Tart
Well, rather than panic, Los Angeles Chef Ludo Lefebvre uses Époisses to flavor a delicious traditionally-styled savory French egg tart (some might say quiche). He adds ham and apples as well which balances the rich filling. So when I was recently faced with most of a leftover wheel I followed his advice exactly.
Because with cheese this ripe and ready I just didn’t have time to come up with any ideas of my own. GREG
The tart can be refrigerated overnight. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
- 9 tablespoon cold unsalted butter (cubed)
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup ice cold water
- 1 (8oz) wheel of chilled Époisses (cut into small pieces with rind)
- 1 firm red apple (peeled, cored and cut into ⅓‑inch dice)
- Parisian-style or boiled ham (cut into ⅓‑inch dice)
- 2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
Make the Pastry: In a food processor, pulse the 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour with the kosher salt. Add the cubed butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and cold water and pulse until the pastry is moistened. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, gather any crumbs and pat into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 13-inch round. Ease the pastry into an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing it into the corners and up the side. Trim the pastry ¼ inch above the rim of the tart pan and use the excess to patch any holes or thin parts. Refrigerate the tart shell until chilled, about 15 minutes.
Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the shell for about 30 minutes, just until dry. Remove the parchment and weights and bake the crust for about 15 minutes longer, until golden. Let cool slightly, then transfer the tart pan to a large baking sheet.
Make the Filling: Scatter the cheese, apple and ham evenly in the tart shell. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the heavy cream, salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Pour the custard into the tart shell and bake for about 45 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking, until the custard is just set and lightly browned on top. Transfer the tart to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Remove the ring, cut the tart into wedges and serve.
I was going to say that I dated Ludo Lefebvre’s leftover tart in college, but I decided against it. Your tart has the most amazing color on top! It looks so delicious. And I love cheese so I’m sure I’d love this.
Great Post! I think i will try replacing nutmeg with cinnamon and maybe cloves to see how that goes
I bet it will be great. GREG
Really neat way to use époisse! I haven’t had these cheese in years, and never in a tart. Or in any kind of food that I can remember — I’ve just had it neat. Really inventive — thanks.
I think this would be perfect Hollywood Bowl picnic food.
The ham and apple combination sounds wonderful — especially since both are terrific with cheese. Your tart is gorgeous and now I am fascinated with that cheese — a must try if it’s that stinky 🙂 Have a terrific week and happy baking!
We were introduced to époisse a few years ago by Chef Greg Argent at now defunct Forté. We were one of a few guests that evening and he brought us samples to try, we were hooked! It’s quite expensive but on rare occasions I see the authentic round at Costco (believe it or not!) for about $20! A real deal. It would make an incredible tart, I love the apples included in this recipe. Such a beautiful summer brunch.
I can just smell this now ~ Wow!
Flavorful cheese, apples and ham sound like a splendid tart filling. I’ll be looking for some epoisses amongst the Murray’s cheeses 🙂
You had me at Époisses! Love the apple.
Love the stinky cheese — fav part of my trip to France. This looks wonderful…need to look for the “smell” Best from ~Bijouxs
My kind of tart, especially when I am sitting in an outside cafe in Paris .
Epoisses is my favorite cheese ever. I discovered it in beaune in 2002. Of course, I love all of those washed rind cheeses, especially the cows milk varieties . I even have a quiche like tart on my blog similar to the recipe you use here, but I think I used Reblochon. And to think that I am on a diet right now. So sad.
Great idea for any leftover cheese like a brie too. Sounds delicious