For Christmas I was very excited to receive a rectangular shaped 'Tarte Maison' tart tin. It's something I've wanted for a while as I love the appearance of tarts in this shape as opposed to circular ones. They look more elegant I think. Mine is from John Lewis. For the tins first outing I decided on a savoury filling and I was inspired by Greek food, such as Spanakopita, which is filled with a spinach and feta mixture. The filling varies with leeks sometimes added and different cheeses, so this is my twist on it.
I made enough filling for two tarts, which is why it looks a lot more in the photos, but I'll just give you the amounts to fill one tart. I started by cooking 1 clove of garlic, half a medium sized onion and 6 spring onions in a pan on a medium heat in 1/2 tbsp oil. Once soft, I set them aside in a bowl.
I added a drizzle more oil to the same pan and wilted 350g fresh spinach, once it began to wilt I added a small knob of butter and a sprinkling of nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp). When it was all wilted I put it in a sieve over a bowl to drain out the excess water. I pressed it down with a spoon to get plenty of water out.
I mixed the spinach with the onions in a bowl.
I chopped up 15g of fresh flat leaf parsley and 15g fresh dill. Fresh herbs are a must for this recipe, the flavor can't be matched by dried herbs!
I added the herb to the spinach mixture and stirred in well.
In a separate bowl I weighed out 50g natural breadcrumbs, 25g parmesan, 140g crumbled feta, and 60g crumbled goats cheese.
I added the cheese mixture to the spinach and stirred in well. Finally I added 1 egg and mixed it in, as well as some salt to taste. I added approx 1/4 tsp, you can add more or less as desired.
To make the pastry I used the same method and amounts from my Pumpkin Pie recipe. I rolled out 2/3 of the pastry onto some cling film (this makes it easy to pick up!)
I greased my tin and lined it with the pastry, cutting off any excess and pricking the bottom with a fork. I then put baking paper in the pastry and poured in some baking beans. I baked it on 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 10-15 minutes until the pastry started to brown around the edges.
I took the paper and baking beans out and baked it again for 5-10 minutes until the bottom looked fully cooked.
I filled the pastry case with the filling and packed it in quite well, filling the tin right to the top.
I rolled out the final third of the pastry and cut out strips, using 1 beaten egg as 'glue' I brushed the edges of the tart, stuck the strips in a lattice pattern and trimmed the edges. I also brushed the egg white on the bottom layer of pastry where it crossed over. When I was done I brushed the tart all over with the beaten egg.
I baked the tart on 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes until it was golden brown.
I recommend serving with mash and vegetables! However if you're serving the tart cold it would be really good with salad. Both myself and my boyfriend ate this up quick, it was really tasty. The freshness of the herbs really comes through in the filling and the pastry was perfectly crisp. A delicious week night dinner!
I am entering this into Lavender & Lovage's monthly challenge Cooking With Herbs as this recipe contains some great fresh herbs. This month's challenge is Store Cupboard favourite, I used nutmeg, flour and salt in this recipe from my store cupboard.
