Vegetarian mains
Spinach and cheese tart
Use ready-made pastry for this simple tart and it's a quick midweek vegetarian dinner. It's best made with a sharpish Cheddar, so that its full flavour comes through the spinach. It's also good with thinly sliced and sautéed leeks or onions for another layer of flavour. It's lovely eaten both warm and at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 500g shortcrust pastry
- 300-350g spinach or spinach beet, washed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 300ml double cream
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 200g plain full fat cottage cheese
- 200g strong Cheddar, grated
- 1 tsp nutmeg, grated or ground
- a squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Butter and flour a 25cm tart tin.
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Step 2
Roll out pastry to a circle about 4-5mm thick and line the tin, leaving some pastry overhanging the top edge of the tin.
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Step 3
Prick the pastry base all over, line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes or so until the sides are firm.
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Step 4
Remove beans and paper and return to oven to crisp up the bottom - about another 10 minutes.
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Step 5
When cool enough to handle use a serrated knife to carefully trim off the excess pastry leaving a neat edge.
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Step 6
To make the filling, finely chop any tough spinach stalks and boil in one inch of water in a covered pan for 2 minutes.
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Step 7
Add the spinach leaves, cook for another 2-3 minutes, keeping the lid on but stirring occasionally until the spinach is wilted.
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Step 8
Rinse thoroughly under the cold tap. Squeeze out all excess water from the spinach and chop.
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Step 9
Combine spinach with all remaining ingredients, pour into the tart case and return to the oven for about 35-45 minutes until filling is risen and beginning to brown just a little at the edges. Eat warm or cold.
