Spinach And Goat Cheese Tartlets Recipes

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
• 3. Add the butter to a skillet over medium heat.
• 4. When the butter melts, add the shallots and garlic, and cook in for 1 minute.
• 5. Add the defrosted spinach to the skillet, sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper, to taste, and allow to cook for 3 - 5 minutes.
• 6. Evenly dollop on the goat cheese, and then cover and reduce the heat to medium low, for about 3 minutes.
• 7. Chef's Tip: One of the tricks is to not stir the goat cheese into the spinach; leave it in nice soft dollops. When you stir it into the spinach, it really diminishes the distinct flavor notes of the cheese and spinach.
• 8. Chef's Tip: Goat cheese comes in creamy or crumbled; in addition, some have spices infused into them. For this recipe, I choose creamy/plain goat cheese; however, you may wish to experiment with other types... Just for the fun of it.
• 9. Remove the cover, and drizzle on the lemon juice.
• 10. Chef's Note: And if you are feeling particularly randy, sprinkle on some freshly toasted pine nuts.
• 11. PLATE/PRESENT
• 12. Serve as a side with beef, pork, chicken or fish. Enjoy.
• 13. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish or an 8-cup gratin dish and coat it with the Parmesan. Heat the milk with the aromatics until it boils. Set it aside to steep for 15 minutes, then strain.Meanwhile, cook the spinach leaves with water still clinging to them until tender. Strain. (You can use other greens as well; chard and tender kale come to mind.)
• When the spinach is wilted, remove from pan and strain out the moisture and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan. When foamy, stir in the flour and cook over low heat for several minutes. Whisk in the milk all at once and stir vigorously for a minute or so as it thickens, then add 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few twists of pepper, and the cayenne. Remove from heat. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until well blended, then stir in the cheese. Don't worry about getting it smooth. Finely chop the spinach and and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Add to the egg base. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
• Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks, then stir a quarter of them into the base to lighten the mixture. Fold in the rest, transfer to the prepared dish, then put in the center of the oven and lower the heat to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and just a bit wobbly in the center. Remove, scatter the thyme over the top, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make the Shortcrust Pastry, recipe follows, leaving to chill for 30 minutes before using. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the tart tin with the dough and bake 'blind'. Cook's Note: Blind Baking. To pre-bake a pastry shell before adding filling, first chill the pastry, and then line your pan. Line the pastry with foil, parchment or greaseproof paper, leaving plenty to come up the sides. Fill with baking beans (alternatively, for a really smooth finish use plastic wrap to line the pastry: place 2 sheets over the pastry, add the beans and bring the edges into the center.) Whichever method you choose, bake 'blind' in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry feels dry. Remove the paper and beans, and brush with a little leftover beaten egg, and return to the oven for 2 minutes. If there are any little holes or cracks in the pastry, just patch it up with any leftover raw pastry before you return it to the oven. Remove from the oven, and set aside in the pan while you make the filling. The pastry can be baked a day in advance and kept covered until you need it. Filling: Wash and dry the spinach, removing any tough stalks and stems, if using large spinach leaves. In a medium-size saucepan, cook the spinach in just the water that's clinging to it, over a low heat until it wilts. Drain the spinach in a colander or sieve, and let cool a little, then squeeze most of the moisture out with your hands, and roughly chop. Meanwhile, steam or boil the potatoes, until just cooked, and cool the potatoes on a tray or board. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/4-inch thick slices. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, and add the cream, salt, and pepper, lemon zest, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and grated Parmesan. Whisk these ingredients together, and then add the spinach, and mix through. Season well as the potatoes are very mild and need a good contrast. Spread the potato slices over the base of the prepared tart, and dot with the goat's cheese, reserving a few slices of each to place on the top, if you wish. Gently spoon the spinach cream mixture over the cheese, as high as you can go. If you are concerned about spillage, carry the tart minus the last few spoons of filling over to the oven. Place the pan in the oven, and then add the remaining filling, and any remaining potato, and cheese slices. Bake until the tart is golden brown and just set in the center, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven, and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
• Shortcrust Pastry
• Place the flour, salt, and butter in a food processor and whiz or pulse briefly. Add half the beaten egg and continue to whiz. You might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together. If making by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Then, using your hands, add just enough egg to bring the dough together. With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough, until it is about 3/4-inch thick, and then wrap in plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag and leave in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 1 crust (about 14 ounces).

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a clean surface (cover the other sheets with a damp towel), brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon parmesan. Cover with another phyllo sheet, brush with more butter and sprinkle with another teaspoon parmesan. Top with the remaining phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Cut the phyllo stack into 24 squares, about 3 inches each. Brush a 24-cup mini muffin tin with oil, then firmly press a phyllo square, buttered-side down, into each cup. Bake until golden, 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until translucent. Stir in the flour, then add the milk and stir until the mixture is smooth, 1 minute. Add the nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in the goat cheese, lemon zest and vinegar until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat and mix in the egg yolks, then the spinach.
• Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the spinach filling. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into each phyllo cup and top with the remaining parmesan. Bake until the filling is set, 15 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan; remove and top with the chives.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Unroll the pastry and put in a large Swiss roll tin. Trim any excess pastry at either end if necessary. Prick all over with a fork, then bake for 10 mins.
• Use a hand blender to blitz the spinach with the eggs, milk, half the goat's cheese and nutmeg, until the spinach is chopped but not puréed. Take the pastry from the oven and press down the centre, as it will have puffed up. Spoon on the filling, scatter with the rest of the cheese, then bake for 15 mins until the filling is set.

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water, then drain.
• In pot, stir together goat cheese and 1 cup pasta water over medium. Add pasta, spinach, parsley, cilantro, lemon zest and juice, and more pasta water if necessary to create a light sauce that coats pasta; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.