Pie weights, like beans or lentils you will need 3 cups to cover the bottom of the pan
Ingredients
Tart Shell
12ozflourchilled (roughly 2 cups)
8ouncescold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes plus a little extra for greasing the tart pan
4ozice water or a scant ½ cup
¼teaspoonfresh ground black pepper
A good pinch of flaked salt gently crumbled to break up large flakeskosher salt can be used in a pinch
1large egg beaten well or pureed with a tablespoon or two of milkfor eggwash (optional)
Spinach Filling
12 ozspinach leaves washed and cleaned
2cupsheavy cream or half and half
½teaspoonkosher salt
3large eggs + 3 yolks
⅛teaspoonfresh grated nutmega couple good gratings
5ouncesgrated Parmigiano ReggianoGrana Padano, or other high quality parmesan
Instructions
Tart Shell
In the bowl of a food processor, blend the flour, salt and butter until it resembles coarse meal. Drizzle in a little ice water until the dough just comes together. Remove the dough, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Grease the tart pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it will fit over the sides of the tart pan. Press the dough into the pan, making sure it's flush with the bottom and sides of the pan.
Blind Baking
Poke the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. Put a layer of aluminum foil onto the crust covering the entire bottom and most of the sides. Put in the dried beans or pie weights and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the shell from the oven, remove the pie weights, brush the bottom of the tart shell with egg wash and bake again for 5 minutes. Remove the tart shell and cool.
Spinach
Prepare an icewater bath and bring a two quarts or so of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, remove the stems from the kale, preferably using a paring knife, but you can also rip in a hurry.
Blanch the spinach in boiling water for a few seconds then shock in ice water, squeeze dry, and coarsely chop. You should have about 1 cup of kale.
Put the greens and remaining ingredients in the bowl of a high powered blender and puree very smooth. It needs to be fine enough to go through a strainer if you will strain it.
Make sure not to blend the custard for too long or it will destroy the green color. The blender should always remain cool to the touch.
Cooking
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Strain the spinach custard through a fine sieve into a large bowl steadied on a rolled up kitchen towel, pressing down to pass the liquid through the mesh. Take your time and do it in small batches.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Yes there is raw egg, no it won't hurt you.
Pour the filling into the pre-baked tart crust and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester or paring comes out clean when the center is pierced. Cool for a few minutes. Cut into slices and serve warm or at room temperature
Notes
Reheating
The tart can also be gently reheated in a 250 F oven until just hot. This is how I served it in restaurants.