We have a fantastic farmers’ market near our Hudson Valley home. Unfortunately, it doesn’t run all year round, unlike our beloved Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan. We have to wait till the end of May to get our hands on all that luscious locally grown produce.

In the meantime, I have three options when it comes to vegetables. First, there’s Stop & Shop, a conventional supermarket full of produce that’s neither local nor organic; the worst of both worlds.

Then, there’s the local health food store, with its sad selection of overpriced organic produce wilting while it waits for a rich, crunchy Prince Charming to rescue it.

Finally, there’s my own backyard, an equally sorry sight this time of year, with weeds brazenly reclaiming territory I thought I’d colonized with my prissy perennials.

But wait! What’s that sticking up near those cherry trees I heeled into the ground “temporarily” four years ago? Why, it’s last year’s leeks.

We never got around to digging them up last fall, and it’s a good thing, too, because it turns out that not only can you leave leeks in the ground over winter if it doesn’t go below 10 degrees, their flavor is actually improved by a light frost. Who knew?

The leftover leeks, a Scottish heirloom variety whose name I’ve forgotten, were the perfect solution to our produce problem last Sunday. I dug them up, Matt cleaned them, and we made a leek tart with a reduced-fat smoked gouda from Trader Joe’s and Violet Hill’s excellent pasture-raised Canadian bacon, both of which we had imported from Manhattan. Well, at least the leeks were local.

OK, so here’s the part where I make the dish and Matt gives it the obligatory thumbs up (you never hear about the culinary disasters because I don’t like to dwell on defeat). In the case of my leek tart, I was apprehensive, because it was a combination of several recipes cobbled together and I’d never made it before. But Matt’s verdict was extra-emphatic. “Insanely good,” he declared, and it really was. How can you miss, with leeks and cheese and bacon?

Kat’s Cheesy Leek & Bacon Tart

(serves 4 to 6)

For the crust:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons flax seeds

1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

4 ounces Canadian bacon

1/4 cup chicken broth

6 baby leeks or 3 large ones

4 ounces smoked Gouda, grated (Gruyere would be good, too)

3/4 cup skim milk (feel free to use low fat or full fat)

1 egg

1 tablespoon fresh chives

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

To make the crust:

Mix the flour and flax seeds in a medium mixing bowl and add the olive oil. Using a pastry blender, mix till it takes on the texture of bread crumbs. Sprinkle with the ice water, a bit at a time, and keep mixing till you can shape the dough into a ball.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4” and pat into a 9” pie plate. It will be a bit crumbly, but you can patch any cracks that may form when you transfer the dough to the pan with the excess bits that stick out over the edge.

Put the crust in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Cook the bacon in a lightly oiled medium sauté pan till just lightly browned, a couple of minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the leeks to the pan and sauté till they start to brown, about five minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer about five minutes longer. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk and egg. Add the Gouda. Mix in the leeks and bacon.

Pour the mixture into the crust, sprinkle with chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.