Paul McCartney’s Spinach Tart!

Other than loving the Beatles music since they first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in 1965 (I was 10, and, if there, would have been one of those pre-teens screaming in the audience!), I don’t know a lot about them as people. For example, I didn’t realize that Paul McCartney and his family became vegetarians in the mid-70’s. Paul’s wife, American-born Linda, was a huge supporter of animal rights. An accomplished photographer she was also a great cook, cookbook author and in 1991 launched her own line of vegetarian frozen meals. So, not sure if this is her recipe or her husbands, but know for sure it is rich and delicious! Thanks to my good friend, Debby Vis, I learned about this recipe.

I used a store-bought frozen pie crust, which made putting this together very easy. Because it is not in a traditional tart pan it probably should more accurately be called a quiche.

Ingredients:
9 inch tart pan lined with pie dough
9 oz. baby spinach
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I used an aged Vermont Cabot.)
1/4 cup Pecorino Reggiano (This was my addition. Not necessary with all that cheddar, but I thought the nuttiness would be a nice addition and it was.)
2 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
2/3 cup fat-free half and half (I used full fat. Better flavor and with all that butter and cheese who’s counting calories?)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt/Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place lined tart pan in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. I placed mine on a cookie sheet to prevent oven spills once filled. I also gently wrapped the ends of my crust with foil so it would not burn.
Gently cook spinach with half the butter until wilted. Remove spinach from pan and chop.
Heat the additional 2 Tbsp. butter and cook onions until soft, but not browned.
Spread the spinach and onion over the bottom of the pie crust.
In a processor or blender, blend eggs, egg yolks, cream, mustard and seasonings.
Stir in cheese then pour over the spinach and onion and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes until top is golden brown and knife comes out clean.
Turn off heat and leave in oven for 5 minutes.
Not being vegetarians I served with a fried chicken breast, chimichurri sauce, and sliced cherry tomatoes. For the chimichurri I used mainly parsley, but added a little fresh chive and sage. 1 garlic clove, olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Salt/pepper and some red pepper flake. Blend together until sauce forms.

During the last few weeks my husband and I, like many of you, have been spending more time at home because of the coronavirus. I have been doing even more cooking than usual, as you most likely have, as well. Here are a couple ideas for dessert and a twist on a Cobb Salad that I have made recently.

Classic Cobb Salad traditionally contains:
Diced chicken breast
Diced tomatoes
Avocado slices
Blue Cheese
Hard boiled Eggs
Crumbled Bacon
All served on a bed of Romaine lettuce, generally with an herb vinaigrette, but if using Blue Cheese I prefer it with a lot of chunky Blue Cheese dressing.

I didn’t have Blue Cheese or Chicken so substituted Shrimp for the Chicken and Feta cheese for the Blue, topped with a light citrus vinaigrette.

This one doesn’t need a recipe either and if you have fresh fruit, plain yogurt and Grape-Nuts cereal on hand you can make it tonight.

For 2 portions, I sweetened 1/2 cup Greek style plain yogurt with a little honey. Taste to your liking. Slice about 1 cup (or more) fresh fruit. I used strawberries and sprinkled with a little sugar to exude juices. About 1/4 cup Grape-Nuts.

Layer half the yogurt, Grape-Nuts and fruit in a wine or parfait glass. Repeat layers and enjoy!

And to close today, here are two very easy recipes from the South Beach cookbook. I did not have part-skim Ricotta cheese so used the full-fat that I had on hand. Other variations include lemon juice/zest and almond extract with sliced almonds. Again, use what you have on hand!

Whisk together 1 cup Ricotta Cheese. Add 2 packages Stevia or other sugar substitute and 1-2 tsp. vanilla. I like it extra vanilla-y so used 2. Serve immediately or can be chilled in the fridge.

For the Chocolate use 1 cup Ricotta, 2 packages Stevia, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 rounded Tbsp. of Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder.