I realized that I really didn’t know what a tart was. Michael Ruhlman laid it out quite simply in his book The Elements of Cooking: ‘…[the tart] should be thought of as a vehicle, a way to shape and focus a main ingredient.’ Well put. I made individual tarts. They didn’t come out too pretty, but tasted right. The salad on top is Frisee, Watercress, toasted pine nuts and avocado dressed with olive oil and lemon zest. A nice bitter and crunchy complement to the rich tart.
The tart filling was spinach, ham, red onion and garlic. I cooked the onion down til it was starting to caramelize, then added spinach (chopped) and garlic. Everything cooks together on medium heat until the spinach is wilted. This can be done ahead of time.
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The savory pastry is pretty simple. The core is two parts flour to one part butter and an egg. The other components are for flavor. This one has cheddar, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pulse it together quickly. To keep it flaky, it shouldn’t be over-kneaded.
You should end up with a soft disc of dough that will need to be refrigerated to help firm it up for rolling. Wrap it in plastic and leave it in the fridge for an hour.
Precook the dough so it doesn’t get soggy when the topping goes on. Roll out the chilled dough and punch a bunch of holes in it with a fork. This will keep the dough from puffing up. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or just until it starts to take on some color.