sprinklefingers

i love dorie greenspan. i also, as you know, have a deep affection for nick malgieri.

both write cookbooks i adore. and both have written very similar recipes. take for example the bacon & spinach tart/quiche that’s included in BOTH of their latest cookbooks. the recipes are so similar that one might think these two are sharing a brain. in fact, they’re so similar that the only major difference between them is the ratio of cream to eggs used and the inclusion (by nick) of nutmeg.

i, of course, set out to see which recipe we’d like the most…and it was a tie. so, i started making a version based heavily on dorie’s, but with the addition of nick’s nutmeg. makes a delicious bacony, spinachy tart that - with the right pastry - makes the perfect tasty treat for a big lunch or a light dinner.

without further ado, here’s the recipe:

spinach & bacon tart
based on recipes by both dorie greenspan and nick malgieri

the pastry:
as a vessel for your tart, you’re going to need a great pâte brisée. richer than your everyday pie crust, pâte brisée contains quite a bit of butter - and with the recipe i’m suggesting you use there’s also the inclusion of eggs and milk…the result is a rich, flaky extremely melty crust that’s honestly so good you could bake it as a cookie. if you wanted to take the deliciousness right over the edge, consider replacing 1/3 of the total butter in the recipe with frozen, cubed duck fat…a move that may well blow your taste buds and mind away (as it has done mine on several occasions. ah, the many splendors of duck.)

here’s a great recipe for pâte brisée - the method is quite easy with the most important step being that of fraisage which will ensure a flaky end result. you’ll basically only combine the ingredients in a food processor and then dump it out on your board and work the butter in by hand (that’s the fraisage bit.)

once you’ve made the pastry, you’ll want to give it a good rest in the fridge. 30 minutes at the bare minimum if you’re in a rush…a few hours if you have the luxury of time.

the good news: pâte brisée can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to a week. additionally, you can make a few batches and store them in your freezer for a tart emergency. because there’s so much butter in the mixture, the pastry rolls out fairly easily even after being refrigerated for days.

for this particular recipe you’ll want to parbake the tart shell. here’s how you can do it:

• roll and shape the pastry into a 10” tart pan with removeable bottom. take care when working the pastry into the pan that you work it right into the edge where the bottom of the pan meets the sides. this will reduce shrinkage. dock the pastry lightly with a fork - do not pierce all the way through or your tart will leak.
• as for the rim of the tart - trim your pastry so that it has a bit of overhang, then press that overhang to form the rim of the tart - a wee bit of dough coming over the edge of the pan will serve as a foothold for the pastry - if there’s something keeping it up at the top of the pan and holding it there, it will have less reason to slip down the side of the pan in the oven.
• line the entire pastry-filled pan with foil, lightly pressing it into the edge of the pan where the bottom meets the sides. crimp it down over the top rim of the pan so that no pastry is showing.
• fill the foil-lined pan with either dried beans or pie weights.
• place the prepared tart pan on a sheet tray and bake in a 375 degree oven for 22 minutes. remove from oven, carefully remove the foil and beans. let the parbaked shell cool while you prepare the filling.

the filling:

you need:

• 10-12 ounces fresh baby spinach, steamed for 3 minutes, cooled, then squeezed free of all water. (squeeze small handfuls at a time, then let the handfuls rest on paper towels while you prepare the rest of the filling.)
• 4 slices quality bacon, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt
• pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese

to prepare the filling:

1. once your spinach has been squeezed free of water, thinly slice the handful-clumps.
2. in a skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. remove bacon to a paper towel and skim off a bit of the grease.
3. to the hot pan of bacon fat, add the onion and garlic. let cook until the onion is just barely golden.
4. add the spinach and bacon to the onion and garlic - mix until the spinach is no longer in clumps and is evenly distributed.
5. season spinach mixture with salt & pepper - taste it! taste it! taste it!
6. whisk together the eggs and heavy cream. sprinkle in a bit of the nutmeg.

to fill the tart:

1. sprinkle the spinach mixture over the bottom of the parbaked shell. make sure it’s evenly distributed.
2. pour the egg/cream mixture over the spinach evenly, giving it time to saturate.
3. sprinkle the gruyere over the top of the tart.

bake the tart:

1. preheat the oven to 400.
2. place the tart pan (it should still be on the sheet tray) in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
3. reduce the oven temperature to 375 and continue baking for 18-20 minutes more.
4. your tart is finished when it has puffed up all over and the cheese is perfectly browned.
5. let the tart sit for 5 or more minutes before serving.

phew. holy marathon of tart. make me happy and make a tart!

here’s a photo!
left side: filling before the egg mixture is poured in.
right side: finished tart.