What you need:
4 x 12cm loose bottom tart tins
150g unsalted butter – melted
1 pack of filo pastry (I used the Just Roll brand– it was the perfect size and quite thick so didn’t dry up and crumble too much whilst I handled it, though I love the real stuff from my Turkish supermarket)
3 or 4 lumps of frozen spinach leaf or chopped
3 tsp Creme fraiche
Freshly Ground nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 or 5 Artichoke hearts - tinned in water not oil
Feta Cheese
Parmesan - a block, you may use a lot of this
Method:
1. Pre heat your over to about 150c and wash your tins if new.
2. Cut your pastry in half and then cut one of the halves in half again, you should end up with two piles of filo pastry.
3. Use a pastry brush to lightly grease your loose bottom tins with some of the melted butter.
4. Lay a sheet of the pre-cut pastry in your first greased tin. Twist the tin around a little and brush your pastry lightly (not forgetting the edges that are sticking up over the edge) with some of the butter, repeat this process so you have about six layers of buttered pastry, you will end up with the edges of the tin having little points sticking up over the edge. Continue until you have done this for all 4 tins.
5. Defrost the spinach, I do this in a microwave for ease, you can defrost it overnight in a bowl if you prefer.
6. When the spinach has cooled a little, add in a few tsp of creme fraiche, some freshly grated nutmeg, pepper and sea salt. 7. Divide this mixture evenly between your pastry lined tart bases and spread it out over the base.
8. Finely grate some Parmesan, about two tbsp over the spinach.
10. Cut your drained artichoke hearts in to thirds and lay over the top on your filling.
11. In a bowl beat up two large organic eggs (the real yellow colour given to the tarts from the organic eggs when the tarts are cooked, is worth the extra expense) Then beat in about 120ml of double cream. grate about two more tbsp of finely grated Parmesan in to this mixture.
12. Pour the filling equally over the tarts, be careful not to over fill them.
13. The final touch and you may think I am a little cheese mad but grate some more Parmesan on the top of the tarts as much as you want really. I love it and can't get enough , but it really is up to you. The beauty of real Parmesan is that it enhances the flavour of your dish it's a little like salt and pepper - it's the natural seasoning of the cheese world.
14. Place the tarts on a flat baking sheet if you have on, just in case they spill over.
15. Cook them on the middle shelf of your oven, for about 15 min and then check them. They should be set and getting golden, then put them back in to cook for about another 10 mins. I can't give you the exact timings, as we all have very different ovens. Mine is quite old and fierce (but I love it - thank you mum) and I have to keep an eye on things a lot more than in other ovens I use. So just get to know your oven and don't believe everything you read re timings in recipes - trust your own instinct.
You should now being looking at four yummy tarts, I served mine at room temperature with a simple mixed leaf and herb salad with a home made vinaigrette dressing, and some of Nigella's Moon blushed tomatoes. Try them they are gorgeous, much more digestible than sundried tomatoes and cheaper, here is the link:
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/moonblush-tomatoes-58
Quiche VS Tarts:
I'll be honest I am not a quiche fan. It's an unbalanced "pastry to filling ratio" for me. So these are a great treat, enabling me to eat yummy fillings with the added bonus of the fine featheriness of filo. Filo pastry is a classic north African/Mediterranean ingredient and it's in many of my family's dishes. Also it's in many other dishes that I love to buy or order when out - Spanakopita just to name one. So for me these tarts are a little food marriage I am happy to share. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. You can of course try other fillings. See my ideas below, keep the egg/cream base the same but add other yummy stuff, as I said I am a little Parmesan mad so I still add it to other versions of the tarts but it's up to you. You can even experiment with little things you have left over in your fridge; bits of roasted vegetables, left over cooked meat/charcuterie, there are no rules really just things you like to eat together. Its like tapas, meze or a picnic, lots of yummy little bits ( Picnics, by the way, are a whole other blog subject I will get on to soon)
Variants of my tarts:
Salmon and leek - Poach a piece of salmon in milk with a bay leaf, slice a leek and fry in a little butter and olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic until its soft and golden. Fill the tart as above.
Roasted veg and feta - In a hot oven roast a mixture of aubergine, courgette, pepper and mushrooms with some mixed herbs, salt and pepper, crushed garlic and olive oil. Cook until soft and golden brown. Fill the tart as above crumbling in some feta. Any left over vegetables can be used in a pasta dish or simply mixed into a salad
Butternut squash, thyme and goats cheese - In a hot oven roast some diced butternut in butter, olive oil and crushed garlic. Cook until soft and golden brown. Fill the tart as above and crumble in some goats cheese and sprinkle some dried thyme over the top.
No comments:
Post a Comment