Thursday, March 25, 2010

Spinach Tart Crust


This week, I have a challenge on my hands. I bought a 2.5 lb bag of spinach at Costco last weekend, as I needed a little bit of spinach for a dinner party menu. I am bound and determined not to let this spinach go to waste, but I'm also not much in the mood for spinach salads all week. So I'm finding ways to use it up! First up, a double spinach tart - spinach in the tart filling, and the crust. This crust was so good, and it was an easy way to pack more spinach into my kiddos. I got the idea from my friend Ana, who has long made a tart crust with basil mixed in. I can see myself trying out cilantro and parsley in the future, too!

Spinach Tart Crust


1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 big handful of baby spinach
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, cut up into pieces
1/4 cup chilled water

In a food processor, blend together the flours, spinach, and salt until well-combined. Pulse in the butter until mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Pour in the water, and blend until dough just starts to come together.

Remove the dough from the food processor and knead it lightly until it comes together. Form it into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board and press it into a removable-bottom tart pan.

Fill as desired (I sauteed some sliced mushrooms and a few handfuls of baby spinach in some oregano olive oil and laid that mix across the bottom, then topped it with four beaten eggs, a splash of milk, and some shredded cheddar cheese). Bake for 35-45 minutes.

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My kids absolutely adored this, and each had seconds. They rarely ask for seconds, particularly of something involving spinach, but they thought the green crust was a lot of fun. If I can incorporate beets and create a pink crust, I think I would blow their minds!

3 comments:

MaryAnne said...

This looks really good! I'm curious to hear what else you do with your bag of spinach - I'm always eyeing those at Costco but haven't had the nerve to pick one up yet because I don't know what we'd do with it and I hate throwing food out!

Kara said...

MaryAnne - it's been a challenge, but we've made a considerable dent so far (I've done 3 dinners using spinach so far, and I'll get them all posted)! It does help that my husband has taken a spinach salad to work two or three days this week. I wouldn't usually pick up the Costco bag o' spinach for the little bit I needed at the time, but I didn't feel like dragging the kids to another store - I'm sure you know that feeling :-)

Unknown said...

That looks delicious! A 10 oz. bag of Spinach is only .99 cents at Shaw's this week!