French Food Friday...Spinach, Ricotta and Parmesan Tart

photo and recipe from here

Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that you have all had a fabulous week. Here in SW France it has been warm but the weather is set to return to normal next week. This week there was an abundance of spinach on the market stands so I was very happy when I found this recipe on my favourite food blog.

Spinach, Ricotta and Parmesan Tart

 

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups flour

100g butter, chilled, chopped  1/3 cup grated parmesan

1 egg yolk

3 tbsp chilled water

Filling:

1050g frozen spinach, defrosted, drained in a colander and squeezed dry (I substituted Fresh and it worked well)

4 eggs

2 egg yolks

250g fresh ricotta

2/3 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup cream

good grinding black pepper and sprinkle of sea salt

good grating fresh nutmeg

For the pastry, pulse the flour, butter and parmesan in a food processor until the mix resembles fine bread crumbs. Add egg yolk and water and pulse to combine. Tip out onto the bench and press together into a dough round. Wrap in glad wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190˚C (375˚F). When the pastry has rested, roll it out into a circle wide enough to line a 26cm deep, removable base tart tin. Line the base and sides with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Cook for 15 minutes, remove baking paper and weights, and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.

So easy - whizz everything in the blender! Next step, reduce the oven temp to 160˚C (325˚F) and pour thick spinach filling into base. Cook for 45 minutes so that the tart is just set. Spinach tart can be eaten hot or at room temperature, but I would advise resting it for at least 10 minutes before removing from the tin and cutting. Beautiful with just a little lovely bread and a glass of red wine on the side - an antioxidant feast! (If you are going for a healthier version, just leave the parmesan out of the base if you must, and add an extra 1/2 cup of ricotta in place of the cream in the filling).

...bon appetit à tous, Leeann x