05 July 2009

Ricotta, spinach and pine nut tart

Otherwise known as "how to use the other half a pot of ricotta leftover from making yesterday's tea - I know, I'll put some pastry with it"

Makes enough for 4 reasonably greedy people. You'll need:

half a pot of ricotta cheese (about 125g)
a medium-sized bag of spinach
a couple of onions, thinly sliced
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
a handful of pine nuts
a slosh of olive oil
lots of black pepper and a little salt
8oz flour (preferably self-raising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
2oz butter
a little milk (about 4-5 fl oz)

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and find a baking tray.

First of all make your scone base. Chuck the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and butter in a food processor, and whizz everything round until it looks like tiny breadcrumbs. Add the milk a little at a time, so as to not drown everything, and blitz until the dough starts to come together. Roll out, and press onto a baking tray, that you've lightly greased with a little butter or oil.

Stick the onions and garlic in a pan with a good slug of olive oil, and fry until they turn translucent. Spread over the base of the tart. Tip the spinach into the same pan, and cook for a couple of minutes until it's wilted.

Dollop the ricotta roughly over the tart, and sprinkle with a few pine nuts. Drizzle a little extra olive oil on the top, and liberally apply black pepper.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes - once the case is nicely browned, it's time to get it out.

We ate ours with a green salad covered in an Asian-style dressing (lots of sesame oil and soy sauce).

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