It's still all about pastry... and we have a friend in cheeses

Ha I had yet another pastry-dominated weekend!  That's one thing I'm loving about blogging, I am starting to notice trends in my cooking.  It seems that pastry, pumpkin and anchovies are featuring regularly at the moment with my winter cooking (although not all in the same dish!).  I'm interested to see how my favourite ingredients change as the seasons advance. 

Anyway, the pastry tastiness was all thanks to my friend Narelle, who was visiting from Sydney.  She took me to Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder (http://www.rhcl.com.au/) on Bridge Road... and even though it took 45 minutes to be seated for a Saturday lunch it was undoubtedly worth the wait.  With its own cheese room, the menu showcases cheese throughout many of its dishes, so I just had to pick the "Carles Roquefort, buttered leek and chive tart in oatmeal pastry with a salad of candied walnuts, sundried figs, grilled king brown mushrooms and shaved cornichons".  Thin crust short pastry with the lightest, silkiest filling of slow-cooked leeks and the tang of roquefort cheese... so damn good. 

After lunch we headed to Thomas Dux grocers to pick up the ingredients for dinner, which just might also have been a tart, two lots of pastry in one day is fine, right???  Hmmm my personal trainer is going to P.U.N.I.S.H. me on Thursday...

The recipe is one that Narelle found in a 2008 Delicious magazine that I've adapted.  As per my earlier entry on the individual pies, this is also a dish that could be made with ingredients like pumpkin, mushrooms, semi-dried tomatoes, different cheeses etc.  And again as these are individual pies you can cater to various tastes - Emily caught me just in time the other night before I was about to put onions in hers!

Spinach, Marinated Feta and Onion Tarts

Serves 3 to 4 - I only made three pies from this amount, and think that four would have resulted in slightly skimpy fillings.

Will post a photo soon to demonstrate the overlapping edges!

1 large bunch of English spinach, trimmed, leaves chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 to 4 sheets shortcrust pastry, thawed
100g marinated (Persian) feta, drained
1/3 cup kalamata olives
1 to 2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line 2 baking trays with paper. 

2.  Trim the stalks from the spinach, and wash and chop the leaves.  Shake off excess water and set aside.

3.  Heat the oil in a frypan over a medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until softened, and then transfer to a bowl.  Add the spinach and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the spinach has just wilted.  Transfer to a sieve and press the spinach against the sides to remove the excess water, then leave to cool.

4. Cut a 22cm circle from each pastry sheet and place on the trays.  Spread the spinach in the centre of each pastry circle, leaving a 2.5cm border.  Break the chunks of feta over the spinach, then scatter with the onion mixture, olives, pine nuts and thyme.  Season sparingly, given the presence of the salty olives and feta.

5. Fold the pastry border in over the filling, overlapping as you go to form a neat ring.  Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg, and bake for 15 or so minutes until the tarts are golden and cooked through.