| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 55 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings plus leftovers |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 55 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings plus leftovers |
Ingredients
- Deselect All
- 4 strips bacon
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
- 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.
- Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)
- Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
- Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1095 |
| Total Fat | 76 g |
| Saturated Fat | 44 g |
| Carbohydrates | 86 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 241 mg |
| Sodium | 939 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1095 |
| Total Fat | 76 g |
| Saturated Fat | 44 g |
| Carbohydrates | 86 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 241 mg |
| Sodium | 939 mg |
Reviews
Has anyone parbaked the bottom crust? I’m worried it may be soggy if not parbaked?
This sounds like it would also be an awesome brunch recipe. Anybody tried that? With what style of eggs?
I love this recipe, especially the easy pie crust which is tender and flakey. The whole recipe comes together quickly and is a great easy supper or a side dish that amps up the meal.
I have made this MANY times over the years and it is fantastic every time, with rave reviews. Unfortunately, I don’t make it frequently and I don’t remember if this is a deep dish crust or regular depth. Using pre-made crusts, as I most often don’t have time to make the dough. Some of the shots look as though it is a deep dish, but not sure. Any one?
I have made this delicious torte several times and it is just delicious. The crust is so buttery and flaky. Recently, our family became vegetarians so I needed a substitute for the bacon in this dish. I used shitake mushrooms sautéed in a little bit of soy sauce to add the texture to approximate the flavor of bacon. It was really really good. I love all of Melissa’s recipes and I sure miss her Ten Dollar Dinners show on Food Network!
Absolutely delicious tart that melts in your mouth. I am gluten free so substituted with Trader Joe’s gluten free flour and a little guar gum. I used a stand up mixer and only needed a couple of tablespoons of water as it was binding even before adding any water due to the large quantity of butter. I let it chill for about 30 minutes and it rolled out nicely but broke apart a little when I put it in the pie pan. I patched it up and the top layer worked out a little better. Because there was so much butter and the crust was so delicate, pieces of the crust fell in my oven and I was concerned how it would turn out thinking next time I’ll cut down on the butter. Well, the pastry is the best part. It literally melts in your mouth. I added turkey bacon instead and it’s definitely needed as the potatoes alone would be too bland. I may experiment a little next time with the crust, but this is certainly a crowd pleaser.
This torte is so delicious! My family and I love this. Followed recipe to the letter and was very happy with the results. Melissa, your recipes are really great and I love so many of them. This is in my top three!
My family enjoyed this dish on Easter along with ham and veggies. It was a huge hit. Guess I’ll be making this again….Thanks Melissa, you are great!
I need to watch my carb-intake (pre-diabetes) so I want to try this without top crust, would I need to bake it any differently (temp/time)?
We love this recipe! I add a little garlic to the thyme and heavy cream, and I use smoked Gruyere cheese. I love the smokey flavor of this torte