Savory Cucumber and Cilantro Tart

Eva, author of Bake-Street, brings us a tart that you can serve either as a starter or as a dessert. It's a savory cucumber and cilantro tart, with a cocoa crust that suits it perfectly! She explains in detail how to make it. You'll surprise everyone!

A few months ago I saw a tart by a chef on his social media and I was fascinated. It was a savory cucumber and cilantro tart with cucumber flowers macerated in gin. Since his job is designing dishes, in addition to working as a consultant, his recipes are not shared.

I kept the idea of his preparation, which I found incredibly inspiring, and I made my own cucumber and cilantro tart. That said, without the gin… it's not for me, although I'm sure it adds a point of interest.

To make it I based it on the traditional cucumber soup we might eat in summer but turned it into a tart, working with it in the same way we would with a panna cotta.

The texture of the tart should be creamy, without lumps or pieces inside. So we will incorporate the cucumber as juice, processing the pulp and letting it drain well. We will process all the ingredients thoroughly so that no small portion remains in the mixture.

I made the crust with cocoa powder, which you can replace with carob if you prefer. The original tart has a pale crust, such as a traditional sablée, but I thought a darker color and a stronger flavor would suit it.

Tokyo Design Studio porcelain bowls, perforated baking sheet for baking and Bérard olive wood flour spoon

This is a tart we can prepare in advance and decorate just before serving. The decoration can be adapted to our tastes. It would have been great to decorate it with cilantro flowers, but they are really hard to find.

So a few sliced cucumbers, edible flowers and dill is the suggestion I leave you.

INGREDIENTS (for a 24.5cm diameter ring)

For the crust:

• 180gr of plain wheat flour
• 25gr of cocoa powder
• 25gr of toasted ground hazelnut
• 130gr of butter
• 1 egg L
• 30gr of muscovado sugar
• 2gr of salt

For the cucumber and cilantro filling:

• 200gr of plain Greek yogurt
• 200gr of heavy cream for whipping
• 20gr of lime juice
• 250gr of cucumber juice (approx. 500gr of cucumber)
• 10gr of fresh cilantro
• 2gr of jalapeño
• 2gr of fresh garlic
• Black pepper to taste
• 6 sheets of gelatin or gelatine leaves

To decorate:

• Fresh cucumber
• Dill
• Edible flowers

METHOD

Prepare the cocoa crust:

1. Grate the cold butter, set aside.
2. In a large bowl add the flour together with the cocoa powder, the toasted ground hazelnut, the grated butter and the salt, start mixing the ingredients with your fingertips until you obtain a sandy mixture.
3. Add the muscovado sugar, the egg and mix lightly.
4. Transfer the dough to a work surface and finish working it using the fraisage technique. It will help us obtain a homogeneous dough without developing the gluten: place the “heel” of your hand on the dough and slide it forward little by little so that it comes together without becoming elastic.
5. Once it's homogeneous, roll the dough between two sheets of Teflon or baking paper. Give it a thickness of 3 mm, for this use an adjustable rolling pin.
6. Keep the dough covered with the Teflon sheets or paper, place it on a tray and put it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Blind-bake the tart shell:

1. Remove the Teflon sheets and place the dough on a sheet of baking paper.
2. Using the baking ring itself (24.5cm), cut the base and leave it in place so it stays there.
3. Cut strips to the height of the ring and place them around it to create the edges. Don't worry if you have to cut several strips, they fit perfectly and after baking the seams are not noticeable.
4. Fit the edges to the ring and the base, but don't handle it too much so it doesn't lose its shape. Prick the base lightly with a fork.
5. Transfer the tray with the ring onto a baking tray (I placed it directly on the perforated baking sheet for baking) and put it in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 175ºC with top and bottom heat.
7. Remove the mold from the fridge, cover with parchment paper and place weights on the surface (you can use baking ceramic balls or dried chickpeas as weights).
8. Place it at mid-height and bake for 15-20 minutes.
9. Remove the weights and bake for 5 more minutes so the base dries out.
10. Remove carefully to avoid burns and let cool completely.

De Buyer perforated ring, baking ceramic balls, perforated baking sheet for baking and Pallarès knife.

Prepare the cucumber juice:

1. Wash and dry the cucumbers, cut off and discard only the ends, slice with the skin on and process in a food processor.
2. Place the purée in a wide strainer with a bowl underneath and let it drain very well. You can leave it for about 30 minutes or even a bit longer.
3. Reserve the cucumber juice and store the pulp* in an airtight container.

*With it you can make a great Tzatziki sauce!

Prepare the tart filling:

1. In the blender jar add the Greek yogurt together with the cream, the cucumber juice, the lime juice, the garlic, the jalapeño, the cilantro, the salt and the black pepper. Process until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
2. Place over medium heat and heat until it reaches a gentle simmer.
3. In a large bowl hydrate the gelatin sheets with very cold water. Let soak for about 15 minutes. During this time let the cream mixture cool down until it reaches 50ºC.
4. Squeeze the gelatin very well and incorporate it into the reserved mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk until completely dissolved.
5. Pour the mixture over the crust in the ring and place in the refrigerator. Leave for a minimum of 4 hours to set, although ideally leave it until the next day.

Decorate the tart just before serving:

1. With the help of a mandoline, cut long cucumber slices. Divide into 3 parts with a knife and roll each into itself to form small flowers. Arrange them on the surface of the tart.
2. Finish with some edible flowers and sprigs of fresh dill.
3. Serve.

This savory cucumber and cilantro tart is a different way to surprise at home — we don't only have to make pretty things when we have guests! We can serve it as a starter and enjoy our first course as if it were dessert… Enjoy!

NOTE: For those curious about which chef made the tart that inspired me, you can see it here.