Comte cheese and spinach tart

 

This is probably the easiest tart I've ever made. I say so with confidence because I was under pressure to have lunch ready with a husband breathing down my neck.

Ro has this habit of heading to work late, especially if he has an early morning conf call to take which he does from home. It would invariably be on a day I don't work, which means by the time I wake up at around 9-ish and settle down with coffee and emails and such, Ro is well into his day. He usually heads into work around lunch time and catches lunch there, but last week he apparently changed his mind and asked me 'what are we having for lunch?' at 11.30 that too. I stared at him, then I stared at the contents of my fridge and seeing the ingredients for this tart, my eyes lit up. They were supposed to be dinner, but that was about 7 hrs away and I had enough time to figure it out. Warned him it would take an hour and he agreed. And there, the easiest tart I've ever made came into existence. 

Photo courtesy: Daniel Jones Photography for Comte Cheese

I attended a Comte Cheese tasting event beginning of last month at La Cave a Fromage. It was a fun evening with Comte cheese expert Claire Perrot giving us in depth knowledge about the complex flavours that Comte is all about. We then went on to taste Comte cheese from different terrains and ages and were asked to figure out how they tasted different, what flavours were persistent etc. I'm no expert at cheese, but the flavours i could get were so obvious, I was quite surprised myself. What amazed me the most was how a slab of cheese smelt completely different from a cut piece and how certain wine and champagne simply made eating cheese a pleasure. One of the pairings with Comte cheese was vanilla paste and I loved how they tasted together. Came back home with a goody bag and a huge slab of Comte cheese to experiment...and experiment did I.

This tart recipe is made using Comte cheese and I must say it tasted fab (don't forget how easy it was make the tart). I think this is going to be the base recipe for all my tarts and I can just play around with the fillings used. The original recipe used a polenta tart base, but remember husband breathing down neck? So short crust pastry it was!

Recipe adapted from the Comte cheese recipe card (makes 5 to 6 tartlets or one 24cm tart)

Spinach- 200 gms

Comte cheese- 200 gms, grated

Crème fraiche- 150 ml

Single cream- 150 ml

Eggs- 3

Salt and pepper- to taste

Butter- to grease the tart tins

Short crust pastry- 1 slab/ roll

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and grease the tart tins with melted butter

Roll out the short crust pastry into a rectangle about 5mm thick and carefully lay it into the tart tin. I used mini tart tins so cut the pastry into 5 equal parts and then carefully laid it into the tins.

Place a greaseproof paper on top of the pastry case and fill with baking beans. I don't have baking beans so used rice instead. Works fine.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until just golden.

Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes to make sure the pastry is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and keep aside.

While the pastry is cooking, you can go about getting the filling ready.

Wash the spinach and roughly chop it up.

Squeeze most of the water from the spinach and cook covered in a microwave safe bowl on high for about 3 minutes.

Drain the water that has oozed out and keep aside to cool a bit.

Meanwhile, mix together the cheese, crème fraiche, cream and eggs in a large bowl.

Season well with salt and pepper.

Once the spinach has cooled down a bit, layer the bottom of the cooked tart shells with spinach and pour over the cheese mix.

Gently stir to evenly distribute the spinach.

Bake for about 20 minutes or till the tart is just set and golden. If a knife inserted comes out clean you are good to go.

Take the tart out and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before removing them from the tin.

Serve with a salad.

Notes: Original recipe called for Swiss chard. If using chard, then wash, chop and cook in a bit of olive oil till wilted.

You can make the same tart using puff pastry as well.. in fact I prefer that to short crust.
Of course Comte cheese can be replaced with cheddar or rather any cheese of choice.
Use double cream in place of creme fraiche

With thanks to Comte cheese for inviting me to the tasting event and for the sample.

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Afternoon tea with Champagne at the Corus Hyde Park

Some time around last week we turned 7 (OK fine, I don't know the exact date, but that's besides the point really). Yes! 7 years since we met each other in a small cafe in Chennai. Me, never wanting to get married, He, enthusiastic about getting married. Poles apart on a lot of things, but on the same page for a few other. Yet! we somehow have managed to make it this far. Its been a rough 7 years with me Ro would say, but I would shrug and say that's marriage. I think Ro's good husband material :)

After so long, we don't even bother wishing each other remembering 'petty' occasions like this. Although, the die hard romantic in me, sometimes do wish it wasn't so. I had been wanting to do an Afternoon Tea session for a long time and when an opportunity came up, I grabbed it thinking we will have a nice afternoon out together. But Ro of course had better things to do than spend an afternoon having 'tea' with me, and so had to change plans. Determined to not dampen my spirits, I grabbed a good ol' girlfriend of mine and headed out into Central London for a fun afternoon out. And boy, am I glad I did, because believe it or not, a day out with a girl friend can sometimes prove to be so much more therapeutic than a romantic afternoon out with the husband :)

Afternoon Tea is such a big deal here its not funny. Some hotels like The Ritz and Inter Continental are soooo known for their Afternoon Tea deals, you have to book a table waaay in advance. Although that was the kind of afternoon tea I had in mind, this deal was good enough for me, and its Groupon that I have to thank for this fabulous offer. From hair cuts to restaurant deals to cooking classes to mini breaks I have done it all. In the initial days after signing up, it used to be a struggle to not pick up the amazing voucher deals.  Now I have a grip on myself and although I scout the website frequently, its only when I absolutely need something do I pick it up. The Afternoon Tea with Champagne for two was too good a deal to pass and I am glad I picked it, because it was so worth it.

 

Corus Hyde Park is located bang opposite the park (as the name suggests) and is a 3 min walk from Lancaster Gate tube station. We headed straight to Olio's Brasserie, just off the reception area, and waited a good 5 minutes for someone to come greet us (not a good start, if you ask me). So I asked at the reception and was politely told someone would be with me soon. No luck again but then I spotted a stewardess at the counter and she guided us to our table. When we were kept waiting, I thought we would be placed somewhere near the stairs or something, but was pleasantly surprised to be seated right next to the huge windows, with good views of the autumn colours of Hyde park (not to mention enough lighting for my pictures, although it was such a gloomy and rainy afternoon, they haven't turned out that great).

We were dutifully given our menu's and asked to pick the tea of choice. There were quite a few interesting options- from the traditional blends like Winchester Breakfast, Darjeeling and Earl Grey to the more contemporary ones like Rooibos orange and eucalyptus, Milk oolong and if that's not fancy enough for you, then try the Lavender hibiscus, a Blooming Tea, which literally does the same in your tea cup. We were not too adventurous with this and so settled for the Winchester breakfast and Classic Chai. Both were brought to the table promptly and we enjoyed the steaming cups of tea while it was pouring cats and gods outside. Oh and we also had to figure out how to handle the two flutes of Baron de Marc Gobillard, Brut Champagne in between sips of tea. Needless to say, the Champagne was happily welcomed, and the tea left to go cold in the tea pots.

 

Then came the exciting bit, the array of tarts, cakes, scones and sandwiches. Arranged in traditional 3-tiered plates, they were a pretty sight. Taste-wise, however, we were a tad bit disappointed. The cupcakes were too dry and the brownie (I think it was a brownie) was anything but moist. The carrot cake was good, but it was not with cream cheese, but more like butter cream. The tartlets were teeny tiny pastry cups filled with something like butter cream with a blackberry perched on one and a raspberry on another. I don't think they can technically be called fruit tarts, but they were pretty cute and we liked it. That said, the scones were to die for and we smothered ours with clotted cream and jam and had a blast getting some extra calories into our bodies. The sandwiches were also pretty good, with the cucumber and cream cheese being my favourite and the ham and cheese a close second. The macarons also did their job of being all good looking with the perfect feet and stuff and the flavours- orange and coffee- were not disappointing either. 

Our tea session stretched on for about 2 hours, because you just cannot stuff everything into your mouth at one go (and also because we weren't shooed out of the restaurant) and its something you really need to enjoy at a slow pace. So the next time you are in London, or anywhere in UK, make sure you treat yourself to a good English Afternoon Tea session. Also, don't forget to check out Groupon for some good deals in your area and trust me, its a decision you wont regret.

Thanks to Groupon for a gift voucher with which I picked up this deal.

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Curried spinach and mushroom tarts

I have this knack to do things wrong. Its not a very frequent thing (although if you ask Ro, he would say its a recurring event), but since you cant ask him, I'm just going to go ahead and say its not always that I do idiotic things. I have the inane ability to tear packets and boxes without reading instructions. I rip them apart the wrong way which in turn makes it impossible to seal them back and then I have to hide it from Ro (who is annoyingly systematic and precise) so I don't get a dose from him. I attribute it to my 'no patience' trait which I don't know who I inherited from..mum, dad??? a little help here???

So the latest to the list are these mini tart tins. Every day for the past couple of weeks I used to pass by it in Sainsburys and notice that it was on a roll back- 3 pounds for 4 mini pans- but I could never decide whether or not I wanted it. I mean you get the sweet and savoury pre-made tart shells to buy so why bother to make them from scratch, was my logic.

 

Until one fine day I woke up and decided it would make a grand (also, unnecessary) addition to my already existing pans and pots, and also I could make tarts from scratch, show off a bit and blog it. Afterall how difficult is it to store 4 small tart tins. So off I went to Sainsburys and what do I see? Its no longer on a roll back but the damn thing now costs 5 bucks for 4 tins. Without even flinching (ya all that logic went down the drain) I put them in my basket, since by then I was already psyched about wanting tart tins and making some tarts for dinner that very day. 

I was also instantly lazy to make pastry from scratch so I picked up ready rolled pastry, did a tiny skip and headed home with my bounty. The tarts came out well, to say the least. In fact super duper well and I am very proud of my acquisition, although Ro later pointed it out to me that they weren't dishwasher safe, oh well bummer! But since he does the dishes anyway, I gave some gyan about how they are 'never' dishwasher safe. He bought it since he has no clue about tart tins :) :) :)

So yes, I do stupid things like that. But thanks to this trait of mine, you now get to see these yummy spinach and mushroom tarts. They are more quiche-like, and is a great breakfast item. Ro is now in the 'i am sick of bread for breakfast' phase and so I am trying to make some fun breakfast items for him. I hope he snaps out of it soon, because I sure am running out of ideas. Spinach and mushrooms are a fav combination of mine and I end up using it in pasta bakes, stir fries and such. Give it a go, and if you don't like it, you can come back and leave hate comments ;)

 

Makes 5 to 6 small tarts

Shortcrust pastry- 1 sheet (recipe follows)

Shallots- 2 medium, thinly sliced

Button mushrooms- 150 gms, cleaned and sliced

Spinach- 100 to 125 gms, washed and chopped roughly

Garlic- 2 tbsp, chopped fine

Curry powder- 1/2 tbsp

Eggs- 2 large

Cheddar cheese- 1/4 cup, grated

Milk- 3/4th cup

Butter- 1 tbsp

Salt and pepper- to taste

Pastry recipe adapted from here

Plain flour- 200 gms

Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp

Cold butter- 100 gms, cut into cubes

Cold water- 3 to 4 tbsp/ as required

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add the cubes of butter and rub it into the flour, using your hands. It should resemble coarse bread crumbs.

Add the cold water bit by bit till it all comes together and you get a soft pliable dough.

Cling wrap it and place in the refrigerator while you get the filling going.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté onions and garlic till soft and fragrant, for about 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add the curry powder and mix thoroughly.

Throw in the chopped mushrooms and sauté till all the water evaporates and is dry.

Finally, add the spinach, salt, a few twists of pepper and cook till the mixture becomes semi-dry in consistency. It shouldn't be too dry, but all the water from the spinach should have disappeared.

Transfer to a bowl and keep aside to cool.

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly.

Add the milk, season with enough salt and pepper and whisk the mixture well. Keep aside.

When ready to bake, pre heat oven to 180C and lightly grease the tart tins with butter or oil.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface.

Cut out circles large enough to fit the tart tins and carefully place the pastry into the cases. Crimp the sides if required. Don't press it in too hard, taking them out can be a problem.

Add about 2 tsp each of the filling into the tart tins, spread it around and pour the milk-egg mix on top of the filling till about 3/4th full.

Repeat till all your filling and milk is used up.

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the filling and place all the tins on a baking tray.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or till the eggs are cooked through. 

Once done, cool on a rack for about 15 minutes and then carefully unmould.

They taste the best on the very same day, but I stored them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and used to reheat in the microwave for about a minute or two. Was perfectly fine!

 

Notes: You can either roll out the large ball of pastry and then use a lid or bowl to cut out circles or make small balls from the dough and roll it out to the size of the tart tins. If you already have rolled out pastry, then the first method works best.

Although I bought ready made pastry, I have used Maria's pastry recipe before and it is very easy and works great.

Use any filling of choice, eg, shredded chicken, sausages or even paneer. Paneer and spinach is a great combo BTW!

Store leftover dough, cling wrapped, in the freezer. Thaw completely in the fridge compartment and use as required.

Instead of milk, use double cream for a more richer filling.

Curry powder can be replaced with any meat/chicken masala.

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