Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Sunny Tart
Ingredients
Spinach, Feta, Tomato and Caramelised Onion Tart
Serves 6
23cm tart tin, about 4cm deep with a removable base.
Ready made short crust pastry dough, ready to roll.
450g baby spinach / washed
1 large red onion / peeled and sliced
A knob of unsalted butter
Caster sugar
Dash of balsamic vinegar
400ml whipping cream
2 Medium eggs
1 Medium egg / separate the yolk and egg white
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
1 clove of garlic / peeled and puree
200g feta cheese / cut into 1cm cubes
125g cherry tomatoes / halved
vegetable oil
salt and pepper
How to make Sunny Tart
This is a recipe from the John Pawson cookbook 'Living and Eating'. It is actually a wonderful recipe book, even if you don't agree with John's minimalist living. I have slightly adapted the original recipe by adding some caramelised onion to the tart, and I think that really adds to the flavour with that little sweetness and contrasts nicely with the slight sourness of the tomatoes. This is a great little tart to enjoy in the summer, with some lovely green salad on the side.
Prepare the short crust casing
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
First you need to blind bake the pastry. Roll the dough out thin and gently line the tin with the pastry and press into the edge. Trim off the top using a sharp knife and keep the trimmings on the side.
Prick the base with a fork and cover with tin foil, folding the foil over the edge. Weigh it with baking beans or dried pulse.
Bake the case for 15 minutes and remove the foil and baking beans. You can use the left over dough trimming to patch any part of the case that has shrunk too much on the side.
Brush the case with egg white and bake for another 10 minutes until it is lightly coloured.
Filling
Check the oven is heated to 190 degrees C.
Put the washed spinach into a large saucepan with just the water thats left on the leafs after washing. Cover with a tight lid and cook for 10min over low heat stirring half way through.
While the spinach is cooking, caramelise the red onion by first putting the unsalted butter to a pan over low heat then add the sliced onions. When it begins to soften, sprinkle with some caster sugar and let it cook over low heat for roughly 5min, add a little dash of balsamic vinegar and cook for another 1min or so then turn off the heat.
Check the spinach is wilted and tender. Drain the spinach into a sieve, and try pressing out as much water as possible. Then coarsely chop it with a large sharp knife.
In a large bowl, mix together the cream, 2 eggs, the egg yolk, parmesan and garlic puree. Season with little salt and pepper. Mix the spinach with the custard, then gently fold in half of the Feta cheese.
Line the bottom of the case with half of the caramelised onion, then carefully pour the filling into the case.
In a seperate bowl, toss together the halved tomatoes and the rest of the Feta cheese with just enough vegetable oil to coat them.
Scatter the rest of the caramelised onion over the tart, then sprinkle the tomato mix over the top.
Grind over some fresh pepper and bake for 35 - 40min until golden, puffy and set in the centre.
Remove the ring around the tin and leave the tart to stand on the metal base for 10min.
This tart is perfect when served slightly warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
