Spinach Ricotta Tart Food

SPINACH RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Wrap ricotta tightly in fine cheesecloth; place in a colander over a bowl. Place a heavy bowl or cans on top; let drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 1/2-inch springform pan with olive-oil cooking spray. Place drained ricotta, spinach, basil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth; scrape sides as needed, about 1 minute. Add eggs and egg white; blend about 5 seconds. Pour into prepared pan; bake until set and just brown around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest on a cooling rack 5 minutes; run a paring knife around edges before unmolding. Cut into wedges; serve.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick pie shell (9" pie pan) and prebake in hot oven for 5-8 minutes until lightly browned. Turn oven down to 350 degrees when pie crust is done.
• Cook spinach until thawed and warm. Drain very well, squeezing excess moisture out with hands. (Do not precook spinach if using fresh).
• Saute onion in butter and stir in spinach, salt, nutmeg and black pepper.
• In separate bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, cream Parmesan cheese and eggs and blend well.
• Add spinach mixture and stir well.
• Pour into prebaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until custard is set.
• Garnish with finely chopped parsley and sliced cherry tomatoes if desired.
• May be served hot or room temperature.

BAKED SPINACH RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Place the ricotta in a strainer lined with cheesecloth and allow to drain over a bowl, covered and refrigerated, for 2 hours. To prepare the tart dough, combine the flour and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a bowl. Add the chilled butter and, using your fingertips or two knives, blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Work in the ice water until the dough holds together. Form the dough into a smooth, flat disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll the dough into a 16inch disk. Place the rolled out dough into a 10- by 2 1/2-inch deep cake pan or springform mold. Pressing with your fingertips, flute the top edges of the dough. Place in the freezer and chill thoroughly, about 30 minutes. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over high heat and saute the spinach, stirring constantly until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and half the pepper. Place the cooked spinach in a colander and drain. Chop fine and reserve. In the same skillet, add the remaining tablespoon olive oil and cook the onion 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add the marjoram and prosciutto. Stir and cook an additional 2 minutes. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and add the drained ricotta, spinach, onion, and prosciutto. Season with the nutmeg and remaining salt and pepper. Set aside. Line the tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pastry weights. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough is set. Remove the foil and beans and cook an additional 10 minutes, or until the dough is light brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spread the ricotta and spinach mixture evenly in the tart, place on the middle rack of' the oven, and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the filling is set and the top golden brown. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes, slice into wedges, and serve.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH-SPINACH TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Combine the olive oil and water in a measuring cup. Pulse the flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. With the machine running, add the olive oil mixture and pulse until the dough clumps together, adding up to 1 more tablespoon water if needed. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap; press into a disk and wrap. Let sit at room temperature while you make the filling.
• Make the filling: Wrap the squash in a kitchen towel and wring out as much liquid as possible; transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the spinach and add to the squash; stir to break up any clumps. Add the ricotta, fontina, parmesan, half-and-half, scallions, parsley, 2 eggs, the nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper; mix until combined.
• Position a rack in the bottom of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees F. Brush a quarter sheet pan or 9-by-13-inch straight-sided baking pan with olive oil. Cut off one-quarter of the dough; set aside. Roll out the remaining dough into an 11-by-15-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Trim the edges with a fluted cutter or a knife and ease into the pan. Spread the filling over the dough.
• Roll out the reserved dough into a 6-by-12-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Cut lengthwise into 10 strips with the fluted cutter; arrange in a lattice pattern over the filling, trimming as needed. Fold in the overhanging edges. Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt and brush on the crust. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is set, about 50 minutes. Let cool on a rack 30 minutes before cutting.

ITALIAN SPINACH AND RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• Place spinach in a skillet over medium heat and cook until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, and chop finely.
• Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat and add onion. Cook until onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Stir ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 2 whole eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into the cooled spinach mixture.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch tart pan or pie dish.
• Unwrap the phyllo dough. Keep covered with a damp cloth to prevent phyllo sheets from drying out.
• Lay 1 sheet of phyllo over the buttered dish flush with the edge so that excess phyllo hangs over on only one side of the dish. Brush lightly with melted butter. Top with another sheet of phyllo at a slight angle to the first one. Continue in this manner, with up to 12 sheets, brushing each sheet with butter and working clockwise to lay each at a slight angle to the previous sheet.
• Spoon cheese and spinach mixture evenly into the phyllo-lined dish. Using the back of a spoon, make six indentations in the filling, then carefully place 1 egg yolk in each. Season each yolk with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of melted butter.
• Take the extra phyllo dough hanging over the edges of the dish and fold it over to the centre to cover the filling, 1 sheet of phyllo at a time, brushing each one with butter. Brush the top of the whole pie with butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the phyllo pastry is a dark golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm.

COURGETTE & RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Cook the courgettes for 5 mins until golden around the edges, then remove from the pan and set aside. Mix the ricotta with the eggs, most of the basil, the nutmeg, Parmesan and garlic. Set aside.
• Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface - roll it out lightly to give an even surface. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and lay the pastry on top.
• Spread the pastry with the ricotta mix, leaving a border of 1cm around the edge, then press the courgette slices into the ricotta. Bring the pastry sides up over the edge of the filling and pinch so that none seeps out the sides.
• Bake for 30 mins until the tart is puffed up and golden. Serve warm, scattered with the remaining basil.

SPINACH & RICOTTA SLICE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Melt half the butter with the oil in a sauté pan. Add the onion and cook for 10 mins until softened. Remove to a bowl.
• Add a few handfuls of spinach to the pan and cook for a few mins until it has wilted down. Remove from the heat and drain in a colander. Repeat until all the spinach is cooked. Press with the back of a spoon to remove any excess liquid. Now roughly chop and tip into the bowl with the onion. Stir in the nutmeg, ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan and some seasoning and mix well.
• Roll out one pack of pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 25 x 30cm rectangle, then lay on a large baking sheet. With the longest side facing you, pack the spinach mixture down the middle of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border all the way around. Brush the pastry all the way round with some beaten egg.
• Roll out the second pack of pastry to a rectangle slightly larger than the first. Drape over the top and gently press down the edges to seal both pastry layers together. Trim the edges to neaten and crimp with your fingers, or seal down with a fork.
• Brush all over with beaten egg and, if you like, lightly score the pastry with the back of a knife in a criss-cross fashion, making sure you don't cut all the way through. Bake for 40 mins. Leave to rest for 10 mins before serving.

SPINACH-RICOTTA QUICHE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; add onion and cook for 1 minute. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to wilt, about 1 minute. Cover skillet and cook for 1 minute more, allowing condensation to build inside the skillet. Remove from heat, uncover, and stir.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Press pie pastry into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan. Prick bottom and sides with a fork.
• Bake crust in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Combine eggs, ricotta cheese, cream, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, basil, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
• Spread spinach and onion mixture evenly over the crust. Pour egg mixture on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until center of quiche is set and the top is lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.