Spinach and Mushroom Tart with Ricotta Cheese

     Yes... I'm still here.  And to prove it, I've made the most delicious savory tart. 

     The recipe is from an old (and favorite) cookbook, Once Upon a Tart.  Family members have been out of town this week and when that happens, I usually don't spend time in the kitchen.  But I've been asked recently why I haven't posted any recipes lately, and thought it was time I made an appearance.  This savory tart seemed perfect for my reentry ... a 9-inch tart pan (on the smallish side), and as good this morning (at room temperature) for breakfast, as it was last night right out of the oven.  If you bake this tart, make it easy on yourself (like I did) and defrost your spinach.  But if you want to use fresh, take a pound of spinach and wilt, using a large pan, with a little butter and olive oil.

    
     This painting (of an actual woman with her dog on the upper eastside of NYC) is one of the reasons I've disappeared.  I put my paints & brushes away 40-some years ago in art school.  I was obsessed and did nothing else.  I didn't think I could continue that way, so I entered the fiber department instead of painting/printmaking.  I often wonder what my life would be like now if I had continued in painting... and I've been missing it.  So, now I will be dividing time between painting and LivingTastefully... oh... and the garden that I need to start planting.  I'm busy, but I'll still be around.  Maybe just not as frequently.

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Spinach and Mushroom Tart with Fresh Ricotta

• recipe by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau, adapted
•  Tart Crust Dough (recipe HERE)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 ounces defrosted frozen spinach, drained in a colander, excess water squeezed out
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 pound white mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup light cream plus extra to brush on the lattice pastry
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, preferrably fresh (recipe HERE)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• A few turns of freshly ground black pepper

1. Using 2/3 of the pastry dough from recipe above, roll dough to fit into a 9-inch tart pan.  Trim any overhang and reserve with the 1/3 of the unused dough; wrap in plastic and keep chilled in refrigerator.  Place the dough-lined tart pan in the freezer and preheat oven to 400˚F.  When the oven is preheated, gently press a square of aluminum foil onto the base and up the sides of the tart pan; fill with dried rice or beans.  Place the pan on a rack in the center of oven and bake for 17 minutes.  Remove tart pan from oven and carefully lift out the foil + dried rice/beans.  Return the tart pan to the oven and continue to bake until golden.  Remove.  Reduce oven temperature to 375˚F. 
2.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and stir just briefly; add the mushrooms and sauté until glossy and dark.  Remove from heat and scrape into a large bowl.  Add the spinach.
3.  Whisk the eggs in a bowl to break up the yolks.  Whisk in the cream, cheeses, nutmeg, red-pepper flakes. salt and pepper.  Add this mixture to the bowl with the mushrooms and spinach and stir until evenly distributed.  Spoon the mixture into the tart shell, and using a spatula, spread to level the filling. 
4.  Make the lattice top by thinly rolling the remaining dough.  I used a pizza cutter to cut 1/2-inch strips of dough.  Weave a lattice crust over the top of the filling (instructions HERE).  Trim any excess and gently tuck ends in around edge of pan.  Using a pastry brush, brush the lattice with light cream.
5.  Place the tart onto a rimmed baking sheet and place baking sheet on middle rack of oven.  Bake for 1 hour, until the filling is firm to the touch, and the lattice is golden brown.
6.  Remove tart from oven and let cool slightly before removing the outside ring.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

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