Potato and spinach tart with mature cheddar (tarte aux pommes de terre)
A pun is not the best place to start when constructing a recipe. But once I'd had the idea for "tarte aux pommes(de terre)" I couldn't get it out of my head until I'd made it. The first iteration looked the part - all prettily layered - but didn't really work as a dish. There was something there, though, and the presentation was too good to let slide; so I did it again, and hit on something that works rather well.Version one was a basic spinach tart with a potato hat on. There was dill in the mix, aping a spanakopita. But without the feta (I was cooking for my boyfriend, and he's lactose intolerant) it just doesn't cohere. Cheese, though, cheese - that's the key.The problem with the first version was density, and the overpowering punch of the dill. Fair enough - we cut back on the dill. But that still leaves a big stodgy heap of spinach and leeks. However nice it tastes, there's just no ducking the fact that it's a pile of wet leaves. The texture really needs evening out.Cheese won't space out the spinach entirely, so it really needs breadcrumbs. Sure, they add heaviness to what's already a fairly solid dish, but if we don't overdo it then it'll be spot on. Together, the breadcrumbs, egg, and cheese bind the spinach into a gooey, rich filling that stays moist, rather than an edible compost heap. Job done.
Ingredients:
- Shortcrust pastry (the usual deal, make, buy, whatever)
- Potatoes
- Spinach (I used about 400g)
- A leek
- Eggs
- Very strong cheddar (about 80g?)
- Breadcrumbs
- A clove of garlic
- Cumin