← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 200 g plain flour
• 100 g cold butter, cubed, plus 15 g for the spinach
• 1 pinch Salt
• 3 tbsp ice-cold water
• 300 g baby spinach
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed
• 150 g soft goat’s cheese log, crumbled or sliced
• 3 Eggs
• 200 ml double (heavy) cream
• 100 ml Milk
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• Black pepper

Method

1. Rub the flour, 100 g butter and salt together until like breadcrumbs, then add the water and bring into a dough. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 min.
2. Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, 375°F). Roll the pastry out and line a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, leaving a little overhang. Line with baking paper and baking beans and bake for 15 min, then remove the paper and beans and bake for 5 min more until dry and pale gold.
3. Meanwhile, melt the 15 g butter in a large pan over medium heat, add the garlic and spinach and stir for 2–3 min until wilted. Tip into a sieve, cool, then squeeze out as much water as you can and chop roughly.
4. Whisk the eggs, cream and milk with the nutmeg, a pinch of salt and some pepper.
5. Turn the oven down to 170°C (150°C fan, 340°F). Spread the spinach over the pastry case, dot with the goat’s cheese and pour over the custard.
6. Bake for 35–40 min, until the filling is just set with a slight wobble in the middle and lightly golden. Trim the overhanging pastry and cool for 15 min before slicing.

Tips

• Squeezing the spinach really dry is the secret to a custard that sets rather than weeps.
• A shop-bought shortcrust case cuts the time in half.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food King Arthur Baking BBC Good Food