She was sitting at the bench and we were catching up after months of false starts and cancelled catch ups, mainly due to sick children and life’s general chaos.
Sharing the latest news, sipping tea and watching the kids play. A very familiar scene from my kitchen bench.
The oven timer goes and I jump up and pull lunch from the oven.
“That looks beautiful, I hope that will make it to the blog” she says.
“Well, actually it wasn’t going to” I say. “I just feel a little weird photographing my food when I have guests, so I don’t think it will make it to the blog at the moment, ” I said as I was about to cut it and serve.
“That’s silly” she says, “take a photo and get that recipe on the blog!”
So….here it is friends. There was no time to set it up in any fancy way for the shot. No styling, no fuss.
This is such an easy tart for a mid week lunch with friends or simple meat-free dinner. I used store-bought puff pastry which I keep in the freezer for days exactly like this one. If however, you want a grain/gluten free option – you can make this more like a ‘frittata’ which is a pastry-less tart. Just use a pie dish, not one with a removable base, and follow the rest of the recipe as is.
We enjoyed it with a huge side of fresh green salad and lots of great conversation.
I am trying really hard to remember where I got this recipe from, as I have had it for so long. From memory, I may have even found it in the packaging when I bought the rectangular tart tin, a Bakers Secret tin. Anyway, this is my take on it.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 leek, white and pale green part only
100gm baby spinach leaves
200gm Greek feta
8-10 cherry tomates, halved
a small handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup thickened cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Wash the leek and chop in half along it’s length. Thinly slice the leek.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan and gently sauté the leek till soft.
Add the baby spinach for a minute or two until wilted.
Set aside to cool slightly.
Line the loose-bottomed rectangular tart tin with 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry, over-lapping a little in the middle. Press down along the join gently and then press the pastry into the sides of the tin. Trim the excess of the pastry from the edges. Prick the base all over with a fork. Place the tart tin on a baking tray.
Put the cooled leek and spinach mixture into the tart tin.
Whisk together the sour cream, eggs, cream and basil. Add some cracked pepper.
Pour mixture over the leek and spinach.
Dot with cherry tomatoes.
Place in preheated oven for around 30 minutes, or until set and golden.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
