Breakfast Tart

I usually try to make breakfast on Sunday mornings. It is the one day that my husband and I wake up late, enjoy a slow morning and a big breakfast. Most of the time it's just bacon, eggs and toast, but sometimes I strive to try something a little different - homemade pancakes, french toast, eggs Benedict etc. Depending on how ambitious I'm feeling in the morning and how well I've shopped the day before. Earlier this week, while paging through my beloved Williams-Sonoma catalog, I came across this recipe. The picture was gorgeous - this quaint little rustic breakfast tart, with eggs, bacon, cheese and bread all presented in a neat little package.

So I bought all the necessary trappings on Saturday and went to work on this Sunday morning. I had a few snafus - mainly with the puff pastry. For one, the recipe says to roll it to a 1/2 inch thick. Well, I don't know about you but the frozen puff pastry I've always used is already about 1/4 inch thick so there goes that step. Secondly the directions wanted me to make some sort of edge with the puff pastry dough but I really couldn't see how that was going to work because it was already smaller than the size the recipe wanted me to cut it to. So instead, I brought out my tart pan and laid the puff pastry in it and cut and pressed to fit it's round shape. This worked out fine.

I also used fontina instead of gruyere because I had some on hand. And I used more cheese than what the recipe calls for. I also substituted fresh chopped parsley for the chives because, again, I already had parsley on hand. Waste not, want not! Overall, this was a very tasty little breakfast - and convenient too! Since mine was round it looked more like a breakfast pizza than a tart and who doesn't love pizza for breakfast! Enjoy!

Breakfast Tart
Williams-Sonoma catalog

1 sheet puff pastry dough
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water
3 oz. crème fraîche (I used sour cream because I had it on hand, worked fine.)
2 oz. shredded Gruyère cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 bacon slices, cooked until crisp
3 eggs
10 fresh chives, cut on the bias into 1/2-inch lengths

Directions:
Thaw the puff pastry dough according to the package instructions.

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

On lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into a 10-by-8-inch rectangle. Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Using a paring knife, score a border 1/2 inch in from the edge of the pastry. Using a fork, prick the center of the pastry. Brush the border with the egg wash and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and cheese, and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the crème fraîche mixture on the pastry, keeping the border clean. Lay the bacon on top, slightly overlapping the slices. Bake the tart for 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a level heatproof surface. Using a fork, prick any large air pockets in the pastry. Crack the eggs onto the tart, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks are still soft, 7 to 10 minutes.

Transfer the tart to a platter, garnish with the chives and serve immediately. Serves 4.