Fennel and Roquefort Tart: Anne Willan, # 27 of Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers

This week we're up to #27 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Anne Willan, founder of the prestigious and influential culinary school La Varenne in Burgundy, France. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time.  Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.

Born into a wealthy family in Yorkshire England, Anne Willan got her degree in economics from Cambridge, but soon after graduation took cooking classes that altered the direction of her life.  Anne moved to France where she honed her cooking skills and married a world banker.  Their lives took them back and forth across the Atlantic for many years but they eventually settled into a country Chateau in Burgundy, France where Anne founded the famous French culinary school La Varenne in 1975.
Anne is yet another in our long list of game changers who, as a non-native, became utterly smitten with the wonders of simple, fresh and rustic Mediterranean food.  She's put in over 35 years as an educator, cookbook author and food columnist, and is recognized as one of the world's experts on French cooking.

Anne moved from her chateau in France to Los Angeles in 1973 to be closer to her daughter.  While she has been inspired by the amazing produce and vibrant food culture of southern California, she says wistfully..."I do miss the cheese, though".

Fennel and Roquefort Tart   ~~~ from La Varenne (my notes in red)
 oven to 375
1 1/2 lb (750 g) fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp chopped thyme
salt and pepper
6 oz (175g) Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 (125 ml) cup milk
1/4 (60 ml) cup heavy cream
pinch of nutmeg
baked pastry shell in a 10 inch tart pan (I used an unbaked crust, recipe here)

• Prepare fennel filling: Heat butter in a frying pan and add fennel, thyme, salt and pepper -- use very little salt as the cheese will be salty. Press a piece of buttered foil on top, cover and sweat the fennel, stirring occasionally, until very soft but not brown, 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the custard: Whisk egg, egg yolk, milk, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a bowl just until mixed.
• When fennel is soft, add Roquefort cheese and stir to melt the cheese. (I skipped this step because I thought the cheese would be nicer if left crumbled to melt as the tart baked, partly for texture and partly for taste) Spread mixture evenly in base of pastry shell and pour over custard. Gently mix fennel and custard with a fork.
• Bake the tart in heated oven until done, 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly before unmolding. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you don't have any of Anne's cookbooks and you want to check out her recipes, the La Varenne website has a wonderful index of recipes organized by year and season.

Check out these other bloggers who are exploring Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers along with me---
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
Kathy- Bake Away With Me