Flamiche aux poireaux

According to the Littré dictionary, the word 'flamiche' denotes a leek tart or, in certain provinces, a pastry made of cheese, butter and eggs. This name belongs to the culinary heritage shared on either side of the Franco-Belgian border: flamiche is found just as much in France, in Thiérache, Hainaut or Avesnois, as in Belgium around Tournai or Mons.

The flamiche transforms a simple, rustic vegetable — the leek — into a generous dish: finely sliced leeks melt gently in butter, then are mixed with beaten eggs and crème fraîche before being spread over shortcrust or puff pastry, and baked until the top is beautifully golden. Every family keeps its own version: with or without cream, yeast dough or shortcrust, with or without cheese.

Certain villages in the North add cheese. The Maroilles tart, Maroilles quiche, flamiche and flamique basically denote the same family of savoury tarts made with Maroilles alone; goyère, a neighbouring speciality from the Valenciennois, is distinguished by the addition of fromage blanc to the Maroilles filling — the two traditions converge in medieval records of cheese tarts as early as 1314, but it was not until the very beginning of the 19th century that 'goyères de Valenciennes' were mentioned under that precise name.

Even today, the flamiche — or 'el'flamique' in Picard — features among the recorded specialities of the Santerre, an agricultural plain in Picardie crossed by the Somme.