Caraway Cheese Tart with Buckwheat Crust (a !0th Anniversary Update)

 

This original version of this dish was the featured entree for the Week Five Dinner  of my 2012 year of Slovenian cooking. 

It was based on a recipe in Woman's Glory: The Kitchen, the mid-century cookbook published by the Slovenian Union of America that inspired my year-long cooking adventure. At the time, I thought it would be just another American-style French quiche. But it turned out to be something different and more complex: Denser than the usual quiche, and with the flavor of Central Europe, thanks to the caraway seasoning. 

For this 10th anniversary remake, I made a few changes, both planned and unplanned.

The biggest change: I made a buckwheat crust. I also made a little more of it this time and pre-baked it before filling. 

With the filling, the changes were subtle, but they made the dish even tastier. Instead of the original onion and bacon, I used shallot and pancetta, because we had them on hand. Originally, I had substituted fat-free Greek yogurt for sour cream, which made the tart a little dense and chewy. This time, I tried light labne, a cultured Middle Eastern dairy product that is probably the equivalent of light sour cream.

The result:  Even better than the first version, with even more of a Slovenian tang because of the buckwheat! 

Caraway Cheese Tart with Buckwheat Crust

For Filling:

6 thin slices pancetta, chopped
4 tablespoons minced shallot (or onion)
6 eggs
6 tablespoons light labne (or sour cream)
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon caraway seed, divided
1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese, grated

For Crust: 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup milk

Easy Press-In Buckwheat Crust:  In the bottom of a 10-inch pie or tart pan, mix together the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour and salt. In a cup, beat the oil and and milk with a fork and stir the mixture into the flour. Mix with fingers into crumbs. Press into pan. Cover with foil or pie weights and pre-bake for 10-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cool.  

For the filling:  Brown pancetta and shallot (or onion) together, let cool. Beat eggs, labne (or sour cream) and seasonings, using half the caraway seed.  Stir in the cheese and pancetta-onion mixture.  Spread filling in pre-baked crust. Sprinkle with remainder of caraway seeds.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until firm.