Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Spinach Mushroom Tofu Tart


I recently began buying my produce from someone new. For several years I received a 10-kilo weekly box from Recapte, a company based in Lérida. I was happy with it, but the truth is that their selection of produce, albeit seasonal, was a bit limited. And after so many years, one can eat only so many kilos of chard or cauliflower in a given month.
In recent years more and more local farmers or small companies have started offering a similar service of sending organic seasonal produce to your doorstep, so I tried a few of them until I found the one I have now, which I love. Xavi Soler runs Masía Soler, a family-based farm or "masía" (Catalan word for a relatively small estate of land). They not only offer seasonal produce but also other products such as olives and olive oil, eggs, organic chicken and pork, homemade preserves like jams or tomatoes, and even their own wine and Serrano ham. They deliver to the city 4 days a week and you can choose exactly how many kilos of each product you want.
Today Xavi brought, among other things, some beautiful fresh spinach, two gigantic leeks, and a big bag of mushrooms. The perfect combination for a savory tart, I thought. Unfortunately, I had no quiche pastry at home, nor the time or ingredients to make my own. But I remembered one of my favorite Montse Bradford recipes (which is on a previous post), a pastryless "quiche" that binds the ingredients together with tofu blended (with miso for flavor) till it's creamy. I did have plenty of tofu at home so I decided to play it by ear, based off of Montse's idea. The result was, lo and behold, a soft, moist, pastryless quiche.
I served it with a millet-amaranth "risotto".




Spinach Mushroom Tofu Tart Recipe
Ingredients:
500 gr. fresh spinach 1 large leek, white and green parts 500gr. mushrooms 1 package plain tofu 2 tablespoons white miso 2 tablespoons olive oil
First prepare all your ingredients: Wash the spinach carefully and dry in a vegetable spinner. Remove any coarse stems. Chop the leek. Trim the tails off the mushrooms, wash and dry with a tea towel. Heat some olive oil in a large wok. Insert the leek with a pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and keep stirring until they have released all of their water. Add the spinach and stir until the leaves are wilted. Take off heat.
Blend the tofu together with the miso, olive oil, and a few tablespoons boiling water, until you achieve a creamy consistency. Mix in with the vegetables, making sure it all blends well.
Put the creamy mix in a prepared oven pan. Bake at 180º for 40 minutes or until the tofu starts to get golden brown.
This can be eaten warm or at room temperature, and it's even better the following day, when the flavors have settled.

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