I made this tart the other night from a bunch of leftovers in the fridge that is similar to a pasta dish I recently created. I really like making savory tarts: you can combine a wide range of complimentary ingredients and spices into the tart and it will always come out of the oven tasting terrific. The one and only thing that this kind of tart demands is a filling that is really dry—if there is any significant amount of liquid in the filling, your crust will get soggy and bubble over when you bake it. So be sure to press your tofu and spinach really well, and saute your onions and mushrooms until most of the liquid is evaporated. This is perfect for a weekend brunch or light dinner.
SPINACH, MUSHROOM AND SOYSAGE TART
Yield 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 7 oz. Gimmie Lean soysage, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1 cup of onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup bella mushrooms, sliced
- 10 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 10 oz. tofu, pressed very well
- 5 oz. Follow Your Heart brand mozzarella, grated
- 12 oil cured olives, depitted and roughly chopped
- 1 pound fresh spinach
- 1 tsp dried or about 10 leaves fresh basil
- 1 tsp dried or 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 prepared pie crust (I used Wholly Wholesome’s Organic Traditional Pie Shell)
- olive oil
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the soysage and, while it is browning, break it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. After about 10 minutes, the soysage should be nicely browned. Add the fennel seeds and fresh cracked pepper to the pan and saute for a minute or two more. Transfer the soysage to a large bowl to cool.
- Add the minced onion to the skillet, until nicely browned and dried, about 10 minutes. Add in the sliced garlic and saute for a few minutes more. Add that mixture to the bowl with the soysage. (Make sure that all of the liquid has evaporated before doing this.)
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan, with a little more olive oil if needed. Saute until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Transfer to the bowl to cool.
- Crumble the pressed tofu into the pan, giving it a good squeeze through your fingers. Saute for a few minutes. Add the fresh or dried thyme and basil to the mix and stir until well combined. Transfer to the bowl.
- Return to the pan, adding in small handfuls of spinach until wilted. Once all of the spinach has wilted, drain off any excess liquid from the pan and blot with papertowels until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add the spinach to the bowl. Then add in the grated mozzarella and olives to the bowl and stir until well combined.
- Gently spoon the mixture into the pie crust and smooth out the top with the back of a large spoon. Bake for 45 minutes. This is best when allowed to cool and then served at room temperature.
Mel says
December 18, 2012 at 4:02 pmExcited to make this tomorrow night for a work brunch potluck! Is that 1/2 cup of bellas sliced or chopped? Thanks!
erinwyso says
December 18, 2012 at 4:49 pmMel, That's great, this is perfect for a potluck.
The bellas should be sliced — I've updated the recipe to reflect that … I hope you enjoy it!
Mel says
December 19, 2012 at 3:03 pmI figured, but with that much stuff fitting in one pie crust I wanted to make sure! Thanks again – I'll let you know how it goes!
Mel says
December 21, 2012 at 3:09 pmThis was so good, Erin! I was baffled when all those ingredients actually fit in the pie crust! Next time I might mince the garlic instead of slices because a few of those babies per serving was a little overwhelming come my third helping. 🙂 Thanks for the awesome recipe & have a great holiday!
erinwyso says
December 21, 2012 at 11:26 pmSo glad you liked it, Mel! Yes, I am a little aggressive with garlic (or so I've been told before), so mincing would be a perfect solution to scale that back a bit. Thanks for letting me know how it turned out, and I hope you have a happy holiday as well!