Spinach tartlets

Serves 4

Riley Whitehouse

Young Cook Finalist Recipe

• Miss M McGuire
• St Cecilia’s College, Derry
• Key Stage 3

Ingredients

• Pastry:
• 200g plain flour
• 100g Northern Ireland butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 2–3 tbsp chilled water
• Filling:
• 2 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 50g spinach, wilted
• 100ml Northern Ireland crème fraîche
• 150ml Northern Ireland cream
• 1 tsp thyme, chopped
• Pinch nutmeg
• 100g soft goats’ cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 1 roasted pepper

Method

• Pre–heat the oven to 180ºC. Grease six to eight flan tins with removable base.
• To make the pastry, sieve the flour into a mixing bowl, add the butter and rub into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and water and mix to form dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Roll out of the pastry on a floured surface, line the tin with pastry and trim the edges. Place a circle of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans. Transfer to the oven and bake for eight minutes, remove the baking beans and paper and return to the oven for five minutes.
• For the filling, place all the ingredients (except for goats’ cheese) into a large bowl and mix gently, pour into the pastry case and sprinkle the goats’ cheese on top.
• Bake the tartlet for 10 o 12 minutes or until the filling is just set.