Creamy Spinach Torta In A Potato Crust Recipes

CREAMY SPINACH TORTA IN A POTATO CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Peel the potatoes. Slice two of them crosswise into rounds about 1/8-inch thick. Slice the third potato lengthwise into rounds about 1/8-inch thick. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Place the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared pan and spray with additional cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy, turning the slices once during baking time. While the potatoes are baking, mix the spinach with the cream cheese, eggs, parsley, dill, feta cheese and lemon peel. Season with black pepper to taste.
• Remove the potatoes from oven and place the round slices, overlapping them, on the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Place the long slices along the sides. Spoon the spinach mixture into the pan.
• Bake the torta for 40 minutes or until the top feels firm and set. Remove the pan from the oven. Release the spring and carefully remove the side of the pan. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

CREAMED SPINACH TARTLETS

Steps:

• For the filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl one-third full with ice. Add cold water to cover the ice. Set a colander into the bowl.
• In batches, cook the spinach in the boiling water just until bright green, about 1 minute. With tongs, immediately plunge the spinach into the colander to stop cooking and set the color. When all of the spinach is cooked and cooled, lift the colander from the water and squeeze out the excess water from the spinach. Chop the spinach and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a deep skillet or broad saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic; cook an additional minute, until toasted and fragrant. Add the cream, the blanched spinach and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the cream has cooked down and thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, feta, white pepper, nutmeg and more salt to taste. Stir to blend, then remove from the heat.
• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Unroll the phyllo and cover it with a damp kitchen towel; keep the pastry covered while working to keep in the moisture. Cut the phyllo in half crosswise.
• Using a pastry brush, coat six 4 1/2-inch tart pans with melted butter. Gently lay a "square" of phyllo in one of the pans, letting it fall loosely into place. Brush with butter, covering the pastry sheet completely. Repeat with five additional sheets. Using kitchen shears, trim the excess dough, leaving a good 1 inch of overhang. Shape the phyllo around the perimeter of the tart pan to create an attractive, rustic edge. Repeat for the remaining five pastry tarts. Fill each tart with the creamed spinach mixture.
• Place the filled tart pans on a baking sheet. Bake on the center oven rack until the crust is golden brown, 30 minutes.

CURRY-CREAMED SPINACH AND TOFU (OR PORK) WITH POTATO CRUST

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and salt it. When the water is boiling, add the spinach, and cook for about a minute. Plunge the spinach into a large bowl of ice water, squeeze the moisture from the leaves and roughly chop them.
• Put the butter and garam masala (or curry powder) and nutmeg in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the spices are fragrant, add the coconut milk, yogurt, spinach, tofu (or pork) and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has absorbed much of the liquid; taste, and adjust the seasoning, and transfer to an ovenproof dish.
• Toss the potato slices with the oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay them over the top of the spinach and tofu (or pork) without overlapping too much. Bake until the potatoes are golden and crisp, 25 to 35 minutes. Scoop into bowls, and serve.

POTATO SPINACH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.
• In a large bowl combine mashed potatoes, spinach, sour cream, butter, green onions, salt and pepper. Spoon into prepared dish.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

CREAMY SPINACH POTATOES

Steps:

• Cook potato in water in med. saucepan until tender. Drain and then coarsely mash.
• Melt margarine in medium saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in milk. Add next 4 ingredients. Heat and stir until boiling and thickened.
• Stir in spinach. Turn potato into greased 2 quart (2 L) baking dish. Pour sauce on top. Poke randomly with spoon to allow some sauce down into potato.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes until hot. Serves 6.

TORTA RUSTICA WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Alternatively, mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add butter, working the pieces into the flour with your hands, squeezing and pinching them until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Add egg, egg white and lemon zest, and pulse after each addition. If working by hand, whisk together egg, egg white and lemon zest in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture. Slowly add iced wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse or mix by hand until the dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather and press it into a ball. Divide into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other, and shape into disks. Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: If your ricotta seems watery, put it in a sieve and let it drain while you cook the spinach.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and a large pinch of salt, and continue to cook until spinach is very dry, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. If any liquid accumulates as the spinach sits, pour it out of the bowl (you don't want it to water down the ricotta).
• In a food processor, purée drained ricotta and eggs until just combined and smooth. Add to the bowl with the spinach and fold in mozzarella, pecorino, ham (if using), parsley, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red-pepper flakes and nutmeg. Set aside when rolling out dough (or chill for up to 4 hours).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pastry dough disk to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan. Scrape filling into crust and spread evenly. Roll out second pastry disk to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice on top of the filling. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top of the torta with the egg wash.
• Place torta on sheet pan and bake until crust is crisp and brown, and filling is firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before serving.