Ladies' Night: Feta, Spinach & Cherry Tomato Tart



My husband went to a NY Yankees game and left me home alone on a Friday night.

I was going to get into some serious trouble and do some major damage.
While the cat's away, the mouse will play!

No, I didn't have any Chippendale dancers here.......



I was going to cook things that my husband won't eat and invite some girl friends over for a a ladies' night.

Hmmmm, he hates feta cheese, mushrooms and most organ meats. Not a big list, but it still limits some great foods made with these ingredients.

Since I knew my friends probably had zero interest in eating liver or sweetbreads (cows' glands), I thought I would make a ladies' night quiche.

I made this delicious tart using fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes and FETA cheese!
It was Delicious!



Ladies' Tart with Feta, Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach (men can eat this too)

9" tart shell, or pie crust (I make Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe)
1 bunch of fresh spinach (not baby spinach)
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 eggs, and 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups of half and half or heavy cream
salt & pepper
1 garlic clove, mashed
1 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
a small container (about 6 oz.) of crumbled feta cheese


Start with rolling out your pastry to fit a 9" pie dish or tart pan with removable bottom. (you know how much I love my tart pans!).

Blind bake the shell for 12 minutes at 375F degrees by covering with foil and placing pie weights in the center to hold the pastry in place.

*I could not find my pie weights, so I used a few rocks from the garden. Very industrious of me!



Meanwhile, make your custard by whisking 2 eggs with 1 yolk, the cream or half and half & the parmesan and feta cheese.



Steam your fresh spinach leaves in boiling water or in the microwave for about 3 minutes until wilted. Make sure you squeeze out all the water in the leaves, otherwise the tart will be soggy.



Chop your spinach leaves on a cutting board and add to the custard mixture.

Chop your garlic clove and mash with a little salt to form a paste.
Add this to your spinach, cheese, egg custard in the bowl.

Cut your cherry tomatoes in half and sprinkle with kosher salt and a tiny bit of olive oil to coat. Set aside.

Remove foil from the tart shell and pour your custard into prebaked pie shell.
Scatter cherry tomato halves on the top of the tart and grind with black pepper.



Bake on a cookie sheet at 375F for about 45 minutes until puffed and golden.

Remove tart ring by placing a can underneath and sliding off collar.



Have fun!



Comments

kat said…
I'm lucky because my hubs would love this too.
Ciao Chow Linda said…
The pie weights were hilarious. Only you would think of ROCKS! This looks really scrumptious and I know my husband would eat this too. I want one of those tall sided tart pans like yours.
beautiful tart, beautiful presentation and beautiful photos - I'll take a big slice of this but dont tell the guys.
StaceyEsq said…
I think Henry missed out on a great meal. I'd rather tuck into that tart than sit through a Yankees game.
Debbie said…
That is a beautiful tart that looks delicious! I would like to try this one sometime.
Looks beautiful. Funny you made this because I have a sausage , spinach and mushroom quiche to post:)
Dana said…
I'll fly East for the next one! That quiche looks fantastic. I don't have a quiche pan, just have always used a tart pan. Clearly, I need to remedy that situation. YUM!
Giff said…
lord knows stacey wouldn't have a 1 lb bag of beans lying around to use as pie weight, and why would you when garden rocks make a perfect accompanyment ;-)
Lori Lynn said…
Looks delicious Stace!
So glad you posted the Chippendale dancer, gave me a good chuckle this morning!
LL
LaDue & Crew said…
I wish I could've been there... I need a girls night out! This looks really delicious. I want that tart pan, too!
Patsyk said…
Looks delicious! I'll have to try it when my hubby is off playing poker later this month! My kind of dinner!
brandin + kari said…
This looks perfect for a Ladies Night in. I hope you served it with a big bottle of prosecco!
Dewi said…
WOW, is that your husband???? KIDDING!

Tart sound delicious and look gorgeous Stacey!
Cheers,
elra
Foodiewife said…
Wouldn't I love to have been a fly on the wall with the girls. Great tart! I love every ingredient that you used. Great photos, too.

Was there dessert? Inquiring minds want to know...
Karen said…
What a beautiful tart! I'd rather eat this than go to some football game. Or are the Yankees baseball? Soccer? Golf? Sigh.
The Food Hunter said…
This looks great and it has all of my favorites!
This made my eyes pop out this morning! I'm just getting around to commenting. What can I say, Bold and Beautiful! I guess Linda and I are both envious of your tart pan. Great photos ( and I love that fork!)
After a lovely meal like that, I'm sure your friends are going to want your husband to attend a few more Yankees games.
Kerstin said…
What a beautiful tart - I love feta cheese too! Thanks for sharing your can trick to get the tart out of the pan - I've always struggled with that!
noble pig said…
Ha, I love the rock shot! Beautiful quiche too, the tomatoes look magnificent.
Maris said…
LOL nice idea for a ladies night! I hope you made hubs take you out on Saturday night :)
Jamie said…
I love feta, cherry tomatoes and spinach! I would have come over to eat and not care where my hubby was! This looks amazingly delicious!
Hope you gals didn't get into too much trouble! :)
Peter M said…
A gorgeous tart and that Feta and spinach thingy is delicious too!

Tell your hubby, EVERYTHING's better with Feta!
KennyT said…
Wow, Stacey, this tart is gorgeous!
Culinary Cory said…
Whenever Brent is traveling, I totally make the foods he hates. Last weekend, I searched all over the city to find the best mussels because I love them, but he will leave the house if I even mention the name. He hates them that much.
Colleen said…
Great choice for a ladies' night!
Angelica said…
Yum, this tart looks so good! I will try it this weekend!

Check out my smoked salmon and spinach tart, I think you'll love it.
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.