{Spinach, Gruyère and quails’ egg tartlets}

By Ruby Tandoh
From The Great British Bake Off
Vegetarian
1-2 hours
preparation time
10 to 30 mins
cooking time
Makes 15 canapésAdd "Spinach, Gr

Spinach, Gruyère and quails’ eggs are a winning combination, all packed up in a neat little parcel of deliciousness in these cute canapés.

Equipment and preparation: you will need a 24-hole mini cupcake tin for the tartlets and 200g/7oz dried split peas for blind baking.

Ingredients

For the pastry

125g/4½oz plain flour
large pinch paprika
pinch salt
55g/2oz unsalted butter, cubed
1 free-range egg white, to brush

For the filling

200g/7oz spinach, washed
100g/3½oz Gruyère cheese, grated
pinch ground nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
15 quails’ eggs
paprika, to taste

Preparation method

For the pastry, mix together the flour, paprika and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips. Add 2-3 tablespoons of cold water - enough to bring the mixture together as a dough. Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge.
For the filling, wilt the spinach with a splash of water in a pan over a medium heat. Remove and strain the spinach. Set aside to cool. Tip the spinach into a bowl and add the cheese, nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C/400F/Gas 6.
Roll out the pastry. Cut out circles of pastry the right size to fit your tartlet tin and line the tray with the pastry. Prick the base of the tarts with a fork. Place in the freezer until frozen.
Make parcels of baking parchment filled with dried split peas (that are the right size to fit inside the tartlets) ready for blind baking the pastry cases.
Technique: How to blind bake pastry
How to blind bake pastry
Watch technique
1:39 mins
Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/Gas 4. Remove the parcels of baking parchment from the cases, brush with egg white and bake until golden-brown.
Part-fill the tart cases with the spinach mixture. Crack a quails’ egg on top of each case. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 180C/fan oven 160C/350F/Gas 4.
Sprinkle the tarts with paprika. Serve.
Top recipe tip
Use 200g/7oz dried split peas to blind-bake in this recipe. These are better than baking beans, because the tart cases are so small.
Required techniques

Fuente: www.bbc.co.uk