Winter : Spinach, Mushroom and Smoked Olive Tart.

Winter is here and my favorite savory tart is back! My family is so thrilled, especially my mother. This is inspired by a recipe I found in a Jamie Oliver book which I adore. 'Jamie at Home' has such valuable information about how to grow and care for your own produce, as well as amazing and delicious recipes.

Spinach, Mushrooms, Pecorino Cheese, Onions, THYME, Garlic. You just know it's going to be delicious. The smell while this is cooking is unbelievable, and it really makes you feel at home. Such a joy to make and eat.

These smoked kalamata olives have the most amazing flavour. They are large, plump, juicy, intense yet not too salty. You can use any olive you like for this recipe, but try to get them with the stone still intact and remove them yourself. The flavour and texture will be so much better, and you will enjoy it so much more. Feel free to substitute the olives and mushrooms for anything you like, some cured meat, tomatoes or anything else you prefer. Go wild.

The same goes for the pastry. You can flavour this in different ways by substituting the thyme and rosemary for something like black pepper or paprika or whatever you think will compliment the ingredients you will be using to fill the tart. The possibilities are endless!

Spinach, Mushroom and Smoked Olive Tart
Adapted from 'Jamie at Home' by Jamie Oliver

Makes one 30 x 40 cm flat tart.

For the Pastry:
250g Plain Flour (Organic is always better.)
125g Cold Butter, grated or cubed, plus extra for greasing.
25g Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
A few sprigs of Thyme, leaves picked
A few sprigs of Rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped
1 large Organic Egg, lightly beaten
A splash of milk

For the Filling:
300g of Fresh Spinach, washed well
I used a combination of English Spinach and Silverbeet for this. Use any spinach you like
3 Red Onions, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
5 medium Swiss Brown Mushrooms, finely sliced
A few sprigs of Thyme, leaves picked
2 large Eggs
300g of Sour Cream / Creme Fraiche
100g of freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, plus extra for grating
A small handful of Smoked Kalamata Olives, stones removed, roughly chopped
A small handful of leaves, to serve (Watercress, Rocket, I used Mizuna I had in my garden. Yum.)
And of course, Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper.

For the Pastry:
Rub the butter and cheese into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs, add the rosemary and thyme and a good pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper. Now quickly and evenly incorporate egg and milk into the butter and flour mixture and gently bring together until you have a ball of dough. Kneading at this point will activate the gluten and leave you with a tough, chewy pastry. Bring it together quickly, wrap it in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour. Allow time to let it come back to room temperature for ease when rolling out.

For the Filling:
Heat a large pot or heavy based pan with a glug of oil on low heat and saute onions for around ten mins without coloring them. This will make them deliciously soft and sweet. Turn up the heat slightly and add garlic and mushrooms and a good pinch of salt and pepper. After a minute or two add spinach, in batches if needed. The spinach will only take seconds to wilt, so stir and keep and eye on it and when it has wilted take it off the heat. If there is any liquid in the pan, discard as it may leave you with a soggy pastry. In a separate bowl, combine grated pecorino cheese, eggs and sour cream and whisk until combined. Season lightly.

Assemble the Tart:
Preheat your oven to 190C. Grease a flat 30x40cm tray with butter. Roll out your pastry until about 3mm thick and line your tray, leaving a 1 cm overhang, which you can pinch to give a rustic crust. This will allow you to blindbake the pastry without it shrinking too much. Prick it all over with a fork and freeze to help avoid shrinking, then bake blind for about 6-8mins until lightly golden. Place spinach, onion and mushroom mix evenly over the pastry, sprinkle over the smoked olives, then evenly spoon over the egg mixture to cover. Grate extra Pecorino over the top, sprinkle with a few thyme leaves, and bake for 15-25mins until golden and bubbling. Delicious. Serve with a few fresh leaves drizzled with olive oil and some fresh lemon juice.