A Stack of Dishes

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savory tart

Onion Tart with Goat Cheese Custard

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Red Onion Tart- A Stack of Dishes

If you’ve been following along with this instagram account, or perhaps that instagram account, you will know that I’ve been working on this Onion Tart. It’s been a complete labor of love as not only is this the prettiest thing, but it’s also so remarkably yummy.

You may or may not be a fan of onions. In fact I know a few of you out there that downright don’t like them one bit. To my mind, once roasted and brought to toasty sweet deliciousness, there is nothing like them. Plus, don’t you just love the smell of onions cooking in the kitchen?? I mean really.

Roasted Onions for Onion Tart-A Stack of Dishes

But I have to be honest.

I had to work this one. [Read more…] about Onion Tart with Goat Cheese Custard

Rustic Free Form Asparagus Tart

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Free Form Asparagus Tart - A Stack of Dishes

This is a first for me. With all my years of baking and cooking I’ve never made a free form tart, sweet or savoy. The beauty of it is that this rustic free formed asparagus tart was not entirely planned. It was more of a- well I’ve got this, and I’ve got that, and I don’t have the other thing…

You see, last night I had a few friends over. All relatively new friends, and a couple that I had yet to meet who are new to the neighborhood like myself. Now that I am settled into my new place I have the where-with-all to do some entertaining- which, as you know, is my absolute favorite thing to do. However, my place is small, and not all my baking bits and bobs made it into the tiny, albeit genius, storage system I have here. Alas dear Alice, there is only so much space in this Wonderland.

I also have a superbly ridiculous stove in this new place. A mere 24″ wide, which offers great challenges to my pot and pan array. Not everything fits!  On top of that, the inside does not have rack ridges for the entire height of the oven space, especially in the middle. What that translates to is that the things I am baking are either too low in the oven, or too high.

So far this has lead to a few too many burnt bottoms. Can you imagine? A professional baker for nearly 25 years and I am burning things now?

I do not lament however, it’s part of the learning curve- I WILL make this work. Nothing, my friends, is ever perfect. Nothing ever, so why fight it?

So back to tart making. For my guests I planned this long tart, but at this moment I have only the one pan.

Asparagus Dill Tart - A Stack of Dishes

I had some leftover filling, a bunch of pastry dough, and just a few asparagus spears, and some of the trimmed ends. I also had a bit of goat cheese left over in the fridge that I felt I should use up too. So this is what happened- No pan=free form tart on parchment paper. No available cookie sheet that fits the oven so I used the broiling pan top piece.

Free form asparagus tart-A Stack of Dishes

This all went very well, but as you can see from the dark paper, I placed it on the bottom rack of the oven first. That paper got toasty pretty fast, which cast off a bit of smoke. The result was the piercing scream of my smoke detector.

Who was it that said it’s not party unless the smoke alarm goes off? Somebody? Anybody? Ha! well, it made me laugh (and flap wildly at the smoke detector to get the damn thing to simmer down). 

In the end, even when things don’t go exactly as planned- with good food and good people, it’s always a success.

Don’t you agree?

Free Form Asparagus Tart

(or traditional tart pan too)

makes two

 

1 recipe of pastry dough

2 cups whole milk ricotta

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch asparagus

1/4 cup minced dill weed

2 oz goat cheese

drizzle of olive oil

 

Prepare the dough, roll it out and either press into a tart pan and trim, or lay flat on a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl combine the ricotta, eggs, milk, garlic and some salt and pepper. Stir to thoroughly combine. Fill tart pan with ricotta mix, alternatively spread filling in center of free form tart, covering 2/3 of the circle. For the long tart I simply place the asparagus on top and sprinkled with dill. For the free form tart I chopped the asparagus ends (not the dried out part) and tossed them on top along with the dill.

Then I coated the long spears with a little olive oil added them on top. Then I simply folded up the sides of the dough. My dough was soft and very breakable, so I just tucked and patched where I needed to. All part of the charm. In the end I pulled up the heads of the asparagus so that they stuck out from under the dough. A sprinkling of goat cheese on top and an extra drizzle of olive oil on top and into the oven it went.

Depending on the pan and the thickness of the filling, baking time should take about 35 minutes. I keep an eye on mine since this oven seems to have a mind of it’s own- and with the free form tart, after I nearly burned down the house I moved it up to the higher rack. Baking as an art- not a science. Hoo yah!

Serve warm-preferable amongst friends.

Spinach+Scallion Savory Torte

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savory spinace torte, torte recipe, savory tart recipe, quiche, a stack of dishes

Because I’m not always in the mood to make a traditional pastry crust, this recipe for my spinach and scallion savory torte is fantastic. 

Nothing beats the flakey rich taste of a traditional pastry crust, but sometimes, the fact is that I don’t always enjoy de-misting the fine layer of flour dust off my black counters. Not only that, but these days I try to shy away from things that are made with so much butter or fats. Using polenta as the base and layer of the torte not only is snap easy, it’s also so much more nutritionally rich than standard crust. 

I really like the dense corn-y layer of polenta, it gives this dish a little more heft, making it a perfect dish for a Sunday Brunch, a luncheon or a light supper. And look how pretty! Because it’s also made with skim milk and light goat cheese, it’s not a bad thing to make for your lunch this week and pack off to work with you. Certainly this is far more appealing than that bologna sandwich you had in mind. {go ahead, make your co-workers jealous}

 

savory tart, savory torte, savory tart recipe, spinach, eggs, a stack of dishes

 

 

 

I don’t have any co-workers since I toil in solitude most days- but that’s about to change. I am juuuuuuuust about finished with all my school work, and just now tidying up all the loose ends for my graduation in May. These last 3 months have been nose to the grindstone (more like eyes squinting at my computer screen), and now I can finally start to ease up on the gas. My dear ol’ pal, Canon 5D, is back from the shop, better than ever. Soon I will be purchasing myself a delicious graduation gift- the new Canon 6D. 

The new camera will have some bells and whistles that I am looking forward to playing with, but I also am looking forward to creating some videos in the near future. My older camera with be “Camera B”, and together I think my two babies and I can do some quick spots for you that I hope you’ll enjoy. So you see, I NEED both cameras. Anyway, fun stuff coming up, so stay tuned for that.

polenta tart, savory tart, savory tart recipe, quiche

Spinach+Scallion Torte
This polenta lined torte is quick and easy to make and much healthier for you. This dish reheats beautifully making it great for getting a jump on a party, or for having on hand in your fridge to take off slices for your lunch or supper. Serves 8
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145 calories
15 g
143 g
6 g
9 g
2 g
215 g
424 g
1 g
0 g
3 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
215g
Servings
8
Amount Per Serving
Calories 145
Calories from Fat 52
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6g
9%
Saturated Fat 2g
12%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 143mg
48%
Sodium 424mg
18%
Total Carbohydrates 15g
5%
Dietary Fiber 2g
9%
Sugars 1g
Protein 9g
Vitamin A
88%
Vitamin C
22%
Calcium
10%
Iron
14%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup polenta or fine corn meal
  2. 3 cups of water
  3. .5 teaspoon salt
  4. 1 large bunch of fresh spinach leaves, about 6oz, washed
  5. 4 scallions, greens and whites, sliced thin
  6. 6 large eggs
  7. .5 cup skim milk
  8. .5 teaspoon salt
  9. .25 teaspoon pepper
  10. 2 ounces reduced fat goat cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare an 8" springform pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large pot bring 3 cups of water to the boil. Stir water with a whisk to create a whirlpool and slowly stream in the polenta. Keep stirring as the polenta thickens for another 2-3 minutes.
  3. When the polenta is thick and starts to pull away from the pan, pour into the prepared springform pan.
  4. Using a spoon, spread the polenta evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan to the top. This will create the shell for the custard filling to rest in.
  5. Arrange the spinach leaves evenly, but without too much fuss, on the top of the polenta.
  6. In a medium sized bowl combine the milk, eggs, salt and pepper and whisk to thoroughly combine. Pour over the spinach, then sprinkle the scallions on top.
  7. Lastly, crumble the goat cheese in large chucks evenly over the top.
  8. Place the torte in the middle of the oven and bake until the center is set and springy to the touch. Mine took about 40 minutes.
  9. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and serving.
  10. Enjoy!
Adapted from from Donna Hay
beta
calories
145
fat
6g
protein
9g
carbs
15g
more
Adapted from from Donna Hay
A Stack of Dishes https://www.astackofdishes.com/
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