Now that we have a baby, it’s hard to go out as much as we used to (duh!), so we have to invite our friends over to our apartment instead. It’s always nice to lure people over with some good food. On the weekends, husband can be on baby duty while I’m in the kitchen—and while I’m on baby duty, he can clean up; no complaints there! And this is how we maintain a social life with a newborn…
Now, this isn’t really a recipe for mustard jibben! It’s a recipe for a tart, but I didn’t feel like making dough! (Even though it’s super easy to make.) Baked egg dishes without buttery doughs are still delicious! And what are they called? Well, we call them jibben. Plus, Jess just made a tart, so we’re mixing things up a bit here.
Just like Adele, I bookmarked this recipe long ago, but never got around to making it. When I was brainstorming what to make for our company, I found this way up in my recipes folder, and saw that it had leeks. I LOVE leeks!! And I also had some Grey Poupon in my fridge from when I made that mustard chicken. And of course I had eggs.
I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I mean, I don’t really love mustard. It’s good as an ingredient, but I’m not a fan of it as a spread on sandwiches. I was afraid the flavor would overpower everything else. But really, the mustard and rosemary combo was subtle and delicious!
Mustard Jibben adapted from the New York Times
Ingredients
- 3 carrots (not too fat), trimmed and peeled
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cut lengthwise in half and washed
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Grease a tart pan or pie dish and set aside.
- Cut the carrots and leeks into slender bâtons or sticks: First cut the carrots lengthwise in half, then place the halves cut side down on the cutting board and cut crosswise in half or cut into chunks about 3 inches long. Cut the pieces into 1/ 8- to 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks. If your carrots were fat and you think your matchsticks don’t look svelte enough, cut them lengthwise in half. Cut the leeks in the same way.
- Fit a steamer basket into a saucepan. Pour in enough water to come almost up to the steamer, cover, and bring to a boil. Drop the carrots, leeks, and 1 rosemary sprig into the basket, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the vegetables and pat them dry; discard the rosemary sprig.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together with ricotta. Add the mustards, season with salt and pepper — mustard has a tendency to be salty, so proceed accordingly — and whisk to blend. Taste and see if you want to add a little more of one or the other mustards.
- Put the tart pan on the lined baking sheet and pour the filling into it. Arrange the vegetables over the filling — they can go in any which way, but they’re attractive arranged in spokes coming out from the center of the tart. Top with the remaining rosemary sprig and give the vegetables a sprinkling of salt and a couple of turns of the pepper mill.
- Bake the tart for about 30 minutes, or until it is uniformly puffed and lightly browned here and there and a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.
- Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature (or lightly chilled).
