Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts

Occasionally my husband and I don’t feel like cooking so we do a bread and cheese night with nibbles. He’ll bake some fabulous bread like Ciabatta. I usually pick up some things to throw in the oven. One of my favourites was a mushroom tart with golden phyllo dough. But it looks like they don’t sell them anymore! How hard can it be to recreate? Luckily making Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts is easy and quick to put together. Which is the whole point if you aren’t in the mood to cook but need to eat.

When we moved into our rental we transplanted a lot of plants from our old house. A lot of the soil lacks nutrients, unfortunately and we’ve been contending with a woodchuck. Boy is that animal hungry! We’ve been putting down blood meal and hot pepper sauce but with the crazy amount of rain we’ve been having, it gets washed away. The one area that is doing well, is our herb bed. I’ve never had as much luck as we’re having. The sage plant seems to be trying for some sort of championship. We have lots of thyme and it’s perfect in this dish.

Technique for Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts

Pre heat the oven to 350F/175C.

Heat up the oil in the skillet. Sautè the mushrooms until they start to brown. Cook for a minute or two. Then pour in the sherry.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the spinach. Cook until the cheese has melted. Add in the spinach and toss until the spinach begins to wilt.

Melt the butter. Cut the phyllo into rectangles and spoon the mixture into the centre.

Brush each layer, as you fold it over the mixture, with the melted butter. Turn in the edges to make a packet.

Bake until the phyllo is golden brown.

Serve immediately. This works well with a dry white wine or a dry rosé. As well as cheese, of course.

Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts

A perfect compliment to a cheese and wine night

Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 1 package of phyllo dough (you won't use all of it)
  • 2 tbsp garlic oil
  • 5-6 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 small handful of fresh thyme
  • 1/3 cup dry sherry 3oz
  • 1/2 cup freshly ground parmesan
  • 1/2 cup cream cheese
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 handfuls of baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup melted butter 2oz

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Make sure the phyllo dough is thawed before prep.

  2. Heat the oil in a skillet. Sautè the mushrooms until they begin to brown. Add the sherry and thyme, reduce for a minute or so.

  3. Add the cheeses. Stir until the cheese melts. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

  4. Add the spinach and stir until the spinach wilts.

  5. Cut the phyllo into rectangles. Spoon some of the mixture onto the centre of the rectangle. Brush with the melted butter on each layer as you fold the phyllo over the mixture. Tuck in the ends and place a baking sheet.

  6. Bake until the tarts are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Make Your Taste Buds Stand Up – A Spicy Stir Fry

This morning is much quieter compared to the last 24 hours or so.  A long line of thunderstorms rolled through.  It was like Mother Nature was using a cricket bat to squash an ant and she kept missing and kept trying.  The house shook quite a bit.  Guinness, who normally could care less about storms, looked like he wanted to hide.  He was out of sorts!

A few of my friends faced flooded back gardens and they were keeping an eye out on the reservoir dam above the town.  Fortunately that didn’t overflow as it’s up on a hill and there are a lot of homes below it.  They wouldn’t be destroyed so much as badly damaged and with winter coming it’s something that definitely wants to be avoided.  But despite the crazy storm the town was fine and we’ll dry off at some point.  More rain today.

At the beginning of all on Wednesday I decided to do a spicy stir fry.  That day was extremely hot and humid so all the A/Cs were going and I didn’t want to do a heavy dinner.  As it was just my husband and I a stir fry seemed like a good choice.

A very easy and quick meal to make.  I chose to do a vegetarian dish with hot peppers.

As everything gets cooked at the same time I prepped the rice noodles first.  One way to make them is soak them in hot water for about 8-10 minutes.

Stir fry 1 2013

I then chopped up all the veg I wanted to use.  I love stir fries with all the colours.  The fresh ginger really makes the flavours pop as well.

Stir fry 2 2013

In our wok I heated up some peanut oil and once hot I tossed in all the veg and stirred it.

Stir fry 3 2013

I added two heaping spoonfuls of chili garlic paste, this will wake you up!  A bit of lime juice, soy sauce, and cilantro completes the dish.

Stir fry 4 2013

Once it is nearly finished I toss in the noodles to coat and then serve.

Stir fry 5 2013 Stir fry 6 2013

Garnish with peanuts and hot peppers over and above the hot peppers used in the dish.  Had a great kick to it!