Spinach Tartlets

I have come across spinach tart or spinach tartlets in more than one Neels. Had I realized how cool looking and simple, I would have made these babies sooner.

I'm not fond of making crust for tarts...I find it time consuming and fiddly, but with *phyllo sheets and a can of Pam, these were a snap. I've been thinking up lots of fillings that would be good in these (cherry tarts, lemon tarts, ham and cheese quiche/tarts), because it's got to be one of the easiest pastry crust substitutions I've ever made (*disclaimer: I have worked with phyllo before, so it held no terrors for me).

I pretty much just used this Feta-Spinach Tart recipe from myrecipes.com with very little changes.


Feta-Spinach Tarts
These appetizers require the dough to be stacked, cut into squares, and fit into cupcake tins. The cups are then filled with a seasoned mixture of spinach and feta cheese, much like the filling in the Greek phyllo triangles called spanakopita.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 tart)

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
3 large egg whites
1 large egg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
6 (18 x 14-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed (the sheets in the package I bought were half the size, so I did two sets)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (I used a feta cheese that had Mediterranean spices added)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper and salt. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Combine egg whites and egg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add spinach mixture, parsley, oregano, and milk, stirring to combine.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or work surface (cover the remaining dough to prevent drying); lightly coat with cooking spray. Repeat layers with remaining phyllo and cooking spray, ending with phyllo. Gently press phyllo layers together. Lightly coat top phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Cut stack lengthwise into 3 (4 1/4-inch-wide) strips, and cut each strip crosswise to form 4 (4 1/2-inch) squares. Carefully place 1 layered square into each of 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; gently press squares into pan to form cups. Fan corners of phyllo cups. Lightly coat the corners of each phyllo cup with cooking spray.

Divide the spinach mixture evenly among phyllo cups. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Loosely cover; bake an additional 3 minutes.


Verdict: Picky 15 year old wouldn't touch them (no surprise), 19 year old liked the spinach filling, Dr. van der Stevejinck and I both liked these. I think I might try them again with a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped ham (or bacon bits). A nicely impressive appetizer for guests, without a lot of bother.