Spinach Tart Recipes

SPINACH AND ONION TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 10-inch tart pan and line it with the pastry. Keep it in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
• Steam the spinach above an inch of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted. You will probably have to do this in batches. I like to use a pasta pot with an insert for steaming spinach, as I can get a lot of it into the insert. Rinse briefly with cold water, squeeze out excess water and chop medium-fine.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it is tender and beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Add the spinach, thyme and salt and pepper to taste, and stir together. Remove from the heat.
• Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add salt to taste (I use about 1/2 teaspoon) and whisk in the milk. Stir in the onion and spinach mixture and the cheeses. Scrape into the pastry-lined tart pan. Place in the oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes, until tart is set and beginning to color on the top. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or 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.

SPINACH RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Wrap ricotta tightly in fine cheesecloth; place in a colander over a bowl. Place a heavy bowl or cans on top; let drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 1/2-inch springform pan with olive-oil cooking spray. Place drained ricotta, spinach, basil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth; scrape sides as needed, about 1 minute. Add eggs and egg white; blend about 5 seconds. Pour into prepared pan; bake until set and just brown around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest on a cooling rack 5 minutes; run a paring knife around edges before unmolding. Cut into wedges; serve.

EASY CRUSTLESS SPINACH SAVOURY TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 °C.
• Grease a 22 cm pie dish.
• Place spinach, onion and cheese into the pie dish.
• Combine remaining ingredients and pour into pie dish.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until set.

SPINACH AND FETA TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the phyllo shells on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
• In large bowl, combine the cream cheese and mayonnaise and stir until smooth. Fold in the spinach, feta and garlic powder. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Divide the filling among the phyllo shells, about 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons per shell. Bake until warmed through and the shells are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

SPINACH TART WITH OLIVE-OIL CRACKER CRUST

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Stir in oil and water, then knead until a ball forms. Roll out dough into a 12-inch round and fit it into a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim any excess length. Prick bottom all over with a fork and bake until crust is golden brown and crisp, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
• Filling: Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Place spinach in a large pot (if spinach is dry, add 1/4 cup water) and cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain. When cool enough to handle, wrap in a kitchen towel and squeeze to remove excess water. Coarsely chop and transfer to a bowl. Wipe pot dry and heat oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until shallot is softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl with spinach. Add feta, eggs, and salt; stir until combined.
• Pour filling into crust and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake tart until just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with red-pepper flakes.

SALMON & SPINACH TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Unroll the pastry sheet and score a border about 1cm from the edge. Prick the middle area with a fork all over and glaze the border with the egg yolk. Bake the pastry for 15 mins until puffed up and almost cooked.
• Meanwhile, put the salmon fillets in a microwaveable dish and cover with cling film. Cook in the microwave on High for 2 mins until just cooked. Set aside to cool for 1-2 mins, then flake into chunky pieces. Mix the crème fraîche with the mustard in a small bowl and season.
• Take the pastry out of the oven and flatten the middle area with the back of a spoon. Cover the base with the crème fraîche sauce, then scatter the spinach and salmon flakes over. Bake in the oven for a further 5 mins or until the pastry is cooked and golden. Serve with dressed mixed leaves.

CARAMELIZED GARLIC, SPINACH, AND CHEDDAR TART

Steps:

• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350°. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14" round. Transfer to a 9"-diameter pie dish. Lift up edge and let dough slump down into dish. Trim, leaving about 1" overhang. Fold overhang under. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roll out second disk of dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/8" thick. Cut into 1/4"-thick strips. Transfer to a parchment&151;lined baking sheet. If dough is soft, chill until just pliable. Working with 3 strips at a time, braid dough, returning braids to baking sheet as you go. Chill until just pliable.
• Beat 1 egg in a small bowl. Brush edge of dough in dish and bottom sides of braids with egg. Arrange braids along edge, trimming and gently pressing sections together as you go. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Line dough with parchment paper or foil, leaving some overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is dry around edge, 25-30 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and brush entire crust with egg. Bake until crust is dry and set, 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, cook garlic in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes; drain. Wipe saucepan dry and heat oil in pan over medium-high. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until cloves start to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until garlic is tender, 10-12 minutes. Add maple syrup, rosemary, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy and coats garlic, about 5 minutes. Scatter cheese over crust; top with spinach. Whisk crème fraîche, cream, and remaining eggs in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Pour over spinach. Add garlic with any syrup. Bake until custard is set and golden brown in spots, 35-40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

CRUSTLESS MUSHROOM SPINACH TART

Steps:

• Coat a 9-in. pie plate with cooking spray. Sprinkle bottom and sides with bread crumbs; shake out the excess. Set plate aside., In a nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in oil for 12-14 minutes or until all of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat; stir in spinach., In a bowl, combine the milk, egg substitute, salt and pepper. Stir in the spinach mixture, 1 cup Mexican cheese blend and Parmesan cheese. , Pour into prepared pie plate. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle remaining cheese around edge of tart. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

PAUL MCCARTNEY'S SPINACH TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Place lined tart pan in oven, bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Gently cook spinach with half the butter, until wilted. Drain and chop finely.
• Heat rest of butter and cook onions until soft.
• Spread spinach and onion over bottom of pie crust.
• In processor or blender blend eggs, yolks, cream, mustard and seasonings.
• Stir in cheese then pour over spinach and onion and return to oven for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden.
• Turn off heat and leave in oven for 5 miutes (may leave oven door ajar to prevent over browning).
• Serve.

MUSHROOM & BABY SPINACH TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a deep 22cm flan tin. Let the edges overhang, don't trim them yet. Chill in the fridge or freezer for at least 15 mins.
• Line the tart case with baking parchment and fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray, then bake for 15-20 mins. Remove the beans and parchment, then return to the oven for another 5 mins to cook the base. Remove, then reduce oven temperature to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then cook the mushrooms for 1 min. Add the spinach, then cook for 3 mins more or until wilted down. Combine the eggs with the milk and cream in a jug and season well. Build up the tart by sprinkling the cheese onto the base, then scatter over the vegetables and pour over the cream and egg mix. Sprinkle the thyme over the top, then bake for 40-45 mins or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Trim the pastry edges and serve in slices with the salads, below.

MUSHROOM AND SPINACH TART WITH CRACKER CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, flax seeds, poppy seeds, and salt in a medium bowl. Rub in olive oil. Add enough water to make a pliable dough.
• Roll out dough on a floured surface and press into an 11-inch tart pan. Poke holes all over with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the surface of the crust looks dry, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add spinach and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and cool until easily handled; squeeze out all water and chop.
• Heat oil in a large skillet and fry onion for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue sauteeing until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Mix in spinach, sour cream, feta cheese, egg, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Spread the filling over the prebaked tart crust.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake tart until the center is set, about 50 minutes.

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.