Spinach-cheese tartlets

30 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
½ cup Cold butter; cut into pieces
6 tablespoons Lard or shortening such as crisco
2½ cup All-purpose flour
4 tablespoons Ice water; up to 6
4 Eggs
1½ cup Cottage cheese
1 small Onion; finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves; minced
10 ounces Frozen chopped spinach; thawed
1 cup Shredded monterey jack cheese
½ cup Freshly grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon Salt

Directions

PASTRY

FILLING

To Make The Pastry: 1. In a large bowl, cut the butter and lard into the flour with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring with a fork until the pastry is well blended and gathers into a ball. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

2. Divide the chilled dough into 2 portions. Roll one portion out on a lightly floured work surface into a circle about ⅛ inch thick. Cut out pieces to fit onto a 2½ to 3 inch tartlet pans. Gently press the pieces of dough into the pans and prick them on bottom with a fork. Repeat with the second portion of dough. Put the pans on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is firm.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut small squares of foil, each about 3 inches square, for each tartlet.

4. Remove the pans from the freezer. Line the pastry with the foil squares, shiny side down, and fill the foil with dried beans, rice, or pastry weights to keep the pastry flat during baking.

5. Bake the pastry shells 12 to 15 minutes, or until the foil lifts out of the shells easily. Remove the foil and weights from the shells. Continue baking the shells 8 to 10 minutes, or until the pastry is very lightly browned and firm. Cool the shells completely, about 45 minutes, in the pans.

6. Remove the cooled shells from the pans. They may be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container for a few days or in the freezer for several weeks.

To Make the Tartlets: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cottage cheese, onion, and garlic and mix well.

2. In a sieve, press the water out of the spinach. Add the spinach, cheeses, and salt to the egg mixture. Stir until well mixed.

3. Fill each baked pastry shell with about 2 tablespoons of filling.

4. Put the shells on baking sheets and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden on top. Serve hot.

Recipe by:

Posted to recipelu-digest by RecipeLu <recipelu@...> on Feb 20, 1998

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