Reformation Recipes: Spinach Tart

Spinach Tart

Goodman p. 278/23 -"A Tart" (GOOD)

To make a tart, take four handfuls of beet leaves, two handfuls of parsley, a handful of chervil, a sprig of fennel and two handful of spinach, and pick them over and wash them in cold water, then cut them up very small; then bray with two sorts of cheese, to wit a hard and a medium, and then add eggs thereto, yolks and whites, and bray them in the cheese; then put the herbs into the mortar and bray all together and also put therein some fine powder. Or instead of this have ready brayed in the mortar two heads of ginger and onto this bray your cheese, eggs and herbs and then cast old cheese scraped or grated onto the herbs and take it to the oven and then have your tart made and eat it hot.

1/3 lb spinach, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 T dried or 1/4 c fresh chervil
1 or 2 leaves fresh fennel, or 1 t fennel seed, ground in a mortar
5 eggs
2/5 lb each of cheddar and mozzarella cheese
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t salt
9" pie crust

Chop or grate greens and cheese and mix filling in a bowl. Make pie crust and bake at 400deg. for about 10 minutes. Put filling in crust and bake about 40 minutes at 350deg. . We usually substitute spinach for beet leaves, dried chervil for fresh, and fennel seed for fresh fennel leaves because of availability.-Alison