Back in September, a group of women gathered in a stunning Italian setting to celebrate the birthday of our friend Syrie. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling quite a bit, but it’s usually connected to work or visiting family. So this experience was really special for me. To spend a week swimming, dressing up, eating delicious food, taking wrong turns into sunflower fields, stealing figs, looking at art, painting with watercolors and visiting with fascinating women from far and wide was really heavenly.

For Syrie’s birthday dinner, two of us took on planning and cooking the meal, with dessert, risotto, and homemade limoncello provided by our hosts. The others curated the wine, set beautiful tables under the linden trees, picked figs and herbs, and helped with cooking. It was truly lovely. These stunning photos of the event (below) were taken by Justine Trickett, who in addition to being one of the two sommeliers, was one of the many professional photographers in the mix.

Syrie’s Birthday Menu

I’ve added links to recipes where I have them and will add more later!

• Watermelon Gazpacho
• Fresh Figs and Burrata in Raddichio leaves with Pistachios
• Makerel and olives in endive leaves
• Assorted cured meats & cheeses
• Leek & Truffle Tart with Hazelnuts (recipe below)
• Baked Eggplant with Tomatoes and Feta
• Baked Zuchinni with Ricotta
• Saffron Risotto
• Limoncello Tiramisu

I recently reprised the Leek and Truffle Tart with Hazelnuts for Syrie’s holiday party because one of the women who was with us in Italy reached out to ask for the recipe. I had no recipe! I’d improvised the tart, so I had to make it again to measure and document. I’m glad that I did. It might become a standard dish for festive and fancy occasions!

Leek and Truffle Tart with Hazelnuts (for Syrie)

Salsa Tartufata substitution- Truffles are a specialty of Umbria, so Salsa Tartufata (Truffle sauce) was widely available. You can order or find it at a specialty store. However, I actually based this tart off of a recipe for a Caramelized Onion and Wild Mushroom Tart which uses 2 oz of dry porcini mushrooms, soaked in a half cup of hot water for a half hour and then minced. The mushroom soaking water should be saved, strained and added into the filling just before the white wine. Truffles and Porcini have very different flavors but are equally delicious and festive in my opinion.

Hazelnut Crust

Ingredients for crust

This is a recipe for a gluten free crust. If you eat gluten, simply replace the gluten free flours and starches with 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose white flour.

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup potato starch
• 2 heaping Tablespoons tapioca starch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts finely chopped (plus more for topping)
• 8 Tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold milk

Instructions for crust

1. Mix the flours, starches, salt and chopped hazelnuts in a large bowl.
2. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
3. While stirring, add just enough milk to form a ball. I usually use a little more than 1/3 cup, but it all depends on how dry your flours and starches are.
4. Cover the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. You can start to prep the filling while the dough chills.
5. Butter and flour a tart or pie tin. Between two 12 inch sheets of wax paper, roll out the pastry until it is large enough to fill your tin. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and flip the rolled dough into the prepared tart tin. Carefully remove the top sheet of wax paper and use your fingers to repair any cracks in the crust. Refrigerate the crust for 30 minutes and continue working on the fillings.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake the crust unfilled for 20 minutes. Finish making the fillings while the crust bakes.

Leek & Truffle Filling

Ingredients for filling

• 2 cups sliced leeks, white and pale green parts only (see note below about leek preparation)
• 2 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper
• 16 oz fresh oyster mushrooms (you could substitute with other wild mushrooms)
• 1/4 cup Salsa Tartufata (see note about substitutions above)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 6 oz cheese (a mix of goat brie or chevre and gorganzola is nice)

Instructions for making the filling

To prepare leeks- Cut off and discard the roots and any part of the green that looks icky. Cut off the dark green portion that looks fresh, dump it a big sink of water and agitate until clean. Save the dark greens for soup stock! Slice the remaining white and pale green section of the leek in half lengthwize and marvel at the beauty of the layers. I like to give each half a rinse at this point, focusing on the more open, green part of the layers. Sometimes there is just an astonishing amount of mud in there! Now place each half, flat side down on a cutting board and slice them into thin half circles. Dump all of the slices into another clean sink or bowl full of cold water and agitate to remove any lingering mud. Lift the slices out of the water, to leave the mud behind. Repeat with clean water until there is no more mud. Let the clean, sliced leeks drain. This might sound like a lot of work, but clean, sliced leeks keep in a sealed container for about a week and I like having them ready to go to throw into soups or make Creamy Dill and Leek Scramble for a quick breakfast.

1. In a large skillet, heat one Tablespoon of olive oil and one Tablespoon of butter. Add 2 cups of sliced leeks and salt and cook over low heat stirring frequently until they are soft and silky.
2. Meanwhile, clean and dice the fresh mushrooms. It is best not to run water over mushrooms to clean them. Mushrooms are designed to absorb liquid. They will absorb the water along with whatever bacteria you were trying to rinse off. Wipe the mushrooms with a paper towel instead.
3. In another very large skillet, heat the remaining butter and oil. Add the mushrooms and salt. When the mushrooms release their liquid, add the salsa tartufata. When the mushrooms begin to sizzle and brown add the white wine, When the wine reduces by half, add the cooked leeks and simmer over low heat until the flavors have combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4. Combine the egg yolk and cream in a large bowl. Whip the mixture until it forms soft peaks and put it in the fridge.

Finishing the Tart

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread the caramelized onion and mushroom mixture into the bottom of the pre-baked crust. Sprinkle crumbles of the goat cheese and gorgonzola on top. Spoon the cream mixture over the filled tart and use a spatula to smooth it down and make sure that it gets spread all the way to the sides. Sprinkle with more hazelnuts.
3. Bake the tart for 30 minutes or until the center is set. It’s good hot, warm, room temp or cold out of the fridge a day later.