Caramelized Endive and Gruyere Tart

In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and sea salt. Rub the cold, cubed unsalted butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Drizzle in the ice water and gently bring the dough together.

Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate to rest and chill the butter.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place the halved endives cut-side down in the pan. Sprinkle with sugar and fresh thyme. Cook until the cut sides are deeply caramelized, about 10 minutes. Flip gently and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough with a rolling pin to a 3mm thickness. Carefully transfer the dough to a 23cm tart pan, pressing it gently into the corners without stretching. Trim the excess edges.

Place the lined tart pan in the refrigerator to relax the gluten and firm up the butter before baking.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line the chilled tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, then bake for another 5 minutes until the bottom is dry and pale golden.

While the crust bakes, use a whisk to combine the heavy cream, eggs, salt, black pepper, and ground nutmeg in a clean mixing bowl.

Reduce the oven temperature to 175°C/350°F. Sprinkle the grated vegetarian gruyere cheese evenly over the bottom of the warm, blind-baked crust. Arrange the caramelized endive halves in a circular pattern on top of the cheese. Pour the egg and cream custard carefully over the filling.

Bake the assembled tart at 175°C/350°F until the custard is puffed and lightly golden, and the center barely jiggles when the pan is gently shaken.

Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to rest in the pan to set the custard completely before slicing and serving.