Seasonal overabundance converted, take II

     Absurd though it might seem, I subscribe to a CSA.  I know, I know, what would possess a person who has a vegetable garden to get a weekly box of veggies?  There are several reasons.
     For one, I tend to be a jack rabbit gardener, not a turtle.  I have a fantastic spring garden, but inevitably, I tend to fizzle mid-summer.  This coincides with my yearly vacation.  Upon return, the garden seems to have gotten away from me and I just lose my momentum... I do try valiantly to regain it, but have mixed results.  I get a pile of tomatoes and squash, but the rest is questionable.
So, if more lettuce, cucumbers or corn are desired, it usually needs to come from somewhere else.
     Also, I find that I grow the same items every year, and my CSA does a nice job of pushing my dietary and culinary envelope:  romano beans, spaghetti squash, radicchio, that sort of thing.  OK, the radicchio has never caught on with me, but the others do.
     I also like being part of a larger, local process:  CSAs do a fine job of keeping food local, organic and seasonal.   The benefits are well detailed elsewhere, I am just glad to take part.  We can call it walking the talk.
     Sure, I could go to the farmer's market ( I do, actually), I could pick other things to grow, I could time my vacations for January.  The fact is that I don't.  So this is my way of compensating.
     At the end of the season, I get a box of storage vegetables:  potatoes and winter squash, celeriac and rutabagas.  This year, I also got beets and leeks.  A lot of leeks.
     It got me thinking of how to use them up more quickly, as they are a bit of a stretch to call a storage vegetable.  This coincided with a cookbook I have recently become enamored with:   From The Larder by Nigel Slater.  He is a genius.  This book is a series of entries arranged in a diary form over the course of a year, wherein he talks about what he is eating/cooking that day.  It makes for fantastic reading and inspiration.
     He, too, had a plethora of leeks.  While he solved his problem somewhat differently, he also mentioned some other options, which inspired me to come up with this way.
     Bacon is cut small, browned and removed from the pan.  Leeks are sliced thinly, added to the residual fat, and softened.  They are heaped on a piece of puff pastry with a bit of cream and baked.  That is basically it.  The result is a faintly sweet and salty item with shatteringly delicate borders.  We paired it with baked salmon for an easy yet fancy dinner.  Even Bryce said the tart was 'not bad' which is a complement for a person who tends to shy away from green vegetable matter.

Bacon and Leek Tart

serves 2-4, depending on what else is served

3 slices bacon, sliced 

4 leeks, white and green parts, cleaned and sliced 1/4" thick

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2T cream

1/2 lb puff pastry

Brown the bacon over medium heat.  Remove the bacon from the pan, leave the fat.  Gently sauté the leeks in the bacon fat over medium heat until softened, approx 5 min.  Salt and pepper to taste.  

Meanwhile flatten out the puff pastry sheet and score it  approx 1/2-3/4" from the edge all the way around.  Avoid going all the way through the pastry.  

Heap the leeks within the scored borders, and sprinkle the bacon on top.  Fold the scored edges over.  Pour the cream over the top.  

Bake in a preheated 450F oven x 20-22 minutes, until the edges are puffed and golden brown.  

Remove and cool slightly, cut into desired sizes:  

This could serve as an accompanying dish, or appetizer.  

It could lend itself to variations:  addition of fresh thyme, diced roasted squash, skip the bacon, gruyere instead of cream, and on and on.