Spinach and Salmon Tart

November 20, 2001

We went to a race meeting last week - the Canterbury trotting cup meeting. Fortunately I've never really developed a taste for gambling. If someone does manage to get me in the door of a casino, I'm the one at the 5cent machines and if I happen to get ahead, I generally quit.

At the horse races I have a very scientific approach to choosing which horses to back. Studying form is far to time-consuming. I just browse through the list of horses and pick names I like. Among my picks last week were a horse that bore my maiden name, a Pat and a Patricia and one that included the name of the street where my doctor has his surgery. The last one was the pick of the bunch and boosted my $10 investment to $68, leaving me well ahead for the day.

While we watched the horses carrying our money around the course, we selected morsels from a spectacular buffet in the president's room - oysters on the shell, crayfish, poached salmon, prawns, Moreton Bay bugs, baby squid, smoked salmon, venison, roast beef fillet, salads, vegetables, strawberries, flans, fruit, cheese and crackers. And there was plenty of bubbly to help things along.

We currently have both the sons in residence. One of the benefits is having a good taxi service available when we don't want to take a car to a function. However, it also means remembering how to cook for four.

One thing I've noticed since the sons have returned is they are far less picky about what they eat. These days they seem happy to consume whatever is put in front of them. Juggling mealtimes with the family's social diaries can be a bit tricky, though. Today's pie seemed an ideal answer when it looked like we'd all be eating at different hours last Saturday. It's good served at room temperature with a salad. If you can't be bothered making the pastry (which is easy), buy readymade, ready-rolled short pastry.

Spinach and Salmon Tart

Pastry
1 3/4 cups flour
100g butter
1 teaspoon salt
6-8 tablespoons iced water

Put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mix looks like coarse crumbs. Gradually add the water, a little at a time. Keep checking and when the mix sticks together when pressed with your finger, remove it from the processor, press it into a ball, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.

1 small bunch spinach
2 medium onions
1 red pepper
1 tablespoon oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
150g feta cheese, diced
several basil leaves
1 440g can pink salmon
2-3 fresh tomatoes

Wash the spinach well, and microwave on high for four minutes. Tip into a sieve and drain. Squeeze out any remaining water.

Chop the onion and red pepper.Heat the oil and saute the onion and pepper until soft and set aside. These two steps can be done ahead. When ready to proceed, pre-heat the oven to 210C.

Place the spinach, eggs, cottage cheese, feta, and basil in the food processor and process until mixed.

Roll out the pastry and line a large quiche dish. Drain the salmon and crumble it into a bowl with the onion and pepper. Spoon this mix into the tart shell then pour over the spinach/egg mix. Slice the tomatoes and decorate the top of the tart. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the filling is set.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving, or serve at room temperature.