Middle-Earth Menu: “Dwalin’s Ham Tart”

Middle-Earth Menu: “Dwalin’s Ham Tart” by Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Our final dwarf wore a green hood and played the viol. Dwalin is another character who is relatively non-fleshed-out, though he apparently settled in Erebor (or the Lonely Mountain) after all was said and done. He is also Balin’s brother. Besides confusticating and bebothering Bilbo Baggins, not much else is known about Dwalin. Perhaps we can assume he had a successful career making beautiful jewelry and clever toys and later retired to a sumptuous house in the foothills. At least he didn’t end up in Moria…
As usual, please follow this link for Savory Seasoning!

“Dwalin’s Ham Tart”

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon Savory Seasoning
¼ teaspoon dry thyme
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup soft salted butter
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons salted butter
About ½ cup (cut into ¼” bits) onion
About ½ cup (cut into ¼” bits) celery
About ½ cup (cut into ¼” bits) carrot, peeled
3 ounces cooked ham (cut into ¼” bits)
3 extra large eggs
½ teaspoon Savory Seasoning
½ cup half-and-half
2 ounces Gruyere cheese, finely shredded

In a large bowl, combine the flour and the following 4 seasonings. Add the ¼ cup butter and water and combine well. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few times; flatten into a disk. Turn the bowl over and cover the dough; let rest 30 minutes (don’t bother washing the bowl afterwards).

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, melt the 2 tablespoons butter over high heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the ham, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°. Liberally coat a 9½” tart pan with 1″ deep removable sides with cooking spray. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about an 11″ circle and lay in the prepared pan. Press lightly up the edges and trim the top flush with the edge of the pan. Save the scraps for decorations. Bake 10 minutes. In the large bowl, combine the eggs, ½ teaspoon Savory Seasoning, and half-and-half with a whisk until thoroughly blended. Sprinkle crust with ⅓ of the cheese. Pour the vegetable mixture evenly over the cheese. Pour the egg mixture over all. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place small pastry decorations as desired. Bake 32-36 minutes, until set in the center. Remove and let stand 10 minutes. Remove pan sides and cut. Cover and refrigerate leftovers. Serves 6-8.

This is known as Mosaic Tart in my cookbook.

Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Astrid Tuttle Winegar is the author of Cooking for Halflings & Monsters: 111 Comfy, Cozy Recipes for Fantasy-Loving Souls, which is currently available exclusively in e-book form on the Amazon Kindle, but will soon be released by Oloris Publishing! Stay tuned for details. For now, she is mostly telling a culinary Middle-earth story here on Legendarium. Astrid has loved C. S. Lewis since childhood, J. R. R. Tolkien since middle and high school, all Star things, both Trek and Wars, all things Whedon, and many other things besides… She lives in the enchanted city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and dog. She blogs occasionally at . You can check out (and like!) her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/astridtuttlewinegar or visit her Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/astridwinegar.