I love, love, love smoked salmon but my Irishman dismisses it as being ‘too fishy’.
So rather than bake the salmon into this tart, I serve it on top so any non-fish people can have theirs with ham. Or salami. #everyonehappy
I also adore using almond meal as a ‘crust’ for a tart like this.
It adds that lovely pastry mouthfeel without all the carbs. Or any of the effort involved in making pastry. Which is where the ‘super easy’ in the title comes in.
To manage expectations it won’t be crisp like a regular pastry shell that is baked blind first. But I doubt you’ll hear any complaints.
It makes for 3 light serves or 2 very large ones.
Super Easy Smoked Salmon + Spinach Tart
Ingredients
- 100 g almond meal (almond flour) (3.5oz)
- 250 g frozen spinach (8oz)
- 4 eggs
- 200 g whipping cream (7oz)
- 100 g smoked salmon (3.5oz)
- 1 bag salad leaves to serve
Instructions
- Defrost spinach and squeeze to remove as much excess moisture as you can.
- Turn your oven to 200C (400F). Line the base (and sides if you like – I do) of a 24cm (9in) spring form pan with baking paper. Scatter the almond meal over the base. Then scatter over the well drained spinach.
- In a medium bowl stir together the eggs and cream. Season with salt and pour the egg mixture over the spinach.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the filling is set and starting to puff up.
- Serve with salmon on top. And green salad on the side.
Nutrition
WINE MATCH: A crisp dry Riesling or Pinot Gris.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – serve with steamed frozen veg. cream = 3 extra eggs or nut milk.
green salad – combine 1 tablespoon vinegar with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season and toss with a bag of washed salad leaves. Too easy.
vegetarian – replace salmon with cheese. A salty feta, creamy ricotta, gutsy blue, sharp cheddar or just good old parmesan. Either scatter the cheese over the top before baking or mix it in with the cream. Or use grilled veg like red peppers, zucchini or eggplant to serve. The other option is to add cooked mushrooms or artichokes with the cream mixture.
dairy-free – replace the cream with 3 extra eggs or almond milk.
egg-free – the eggs help to set the tart. I’m thinking you could make a vegetable and ricotta based filling instead. But it needs some experimentation. Sorry!
no almond meal / nut free – turn it into a baked frittata and skip the almond crust. Ground sunflower seeds or linseeds (flax) can be used instead – they will add a ‘healthy’ flavour which may or may not be a good thing.
whole almonds – if you have whole almonds you can make your own meal by giving them a whirl in the food processor. Other nuts will work too. I like finely chopped walnuts.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with crusty bread and butter. Or add some cooked potatoes with the cream mixture. Or serve roast potatoes or other root veg on the side.
more substantial (low carb) – make 2 serves. Or use extra salmon. Or serve with roast walnuts or almonds on top. Or some avocado.
Low FODMAP – halve the almond meal.
different vegetables – I like to add some chopped chives with the cream. Feel free to use any cooked or defrosted frozen greens in place of the spinach. Frozen kale it excellent. Other cooked veg will work too – think broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, artichoke hearts, onion, leeks, eggplant or any roast veggies. Halved raw cherry tomatoes would be a nice touch in Summer. Cooked legumes like chickpeas or lentils.
different protein – ham, salami, prosciutto, shaved parmesan, crumbled feta, roast walnuts, chickpeas, pulled chicken, cooked bacon, cooked chorizo.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
almond meal – keep it in the pantry.
frozen spinach – keep in the freezer.
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
cream – unopened cartons will generally keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. If you need to store for longer, just pop in the freezer in a sealed container.
smoked salmon – freeze it.
salad leaves – are highly perishable. My first path would be to use them for another meal (salad for breakfast!) but if that isn’t possible you can pop them in the freezer. They will wilt down but can then be used anywhere you’d use wilted greens.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – a squeeze of lemon or some sea salt flakes will fix that!
too dry – overcooked tart! Next time check earlier, For now a dollop of sour cream , cashew sauce, avocado or mayo will help.
no oven – scramble the eggs, cream and almond meal in a frying pan with a little butter until just set into creamy curds (medium heat for about 5 minutes – make sure you stir often). When cooked, stir in spinach. Serve with salmon on top and salad on the side.
no 24cm (9in) spring form pan – any oven proof dish will do. Just be careful if the dimensions are much smaller, it will take longer to cook, and if the surface area is much larger, it will cook more quickly. And line with baking paper so you don’t end up with a sticking situation – nobody likes a sticking situation ?
watery / falling apart – this means the egg hasn’t been cooked long enough to set. If you can pop it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. And also make sure you really squeeze the spinach dry before mixing with the eggs.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the salmon and salad separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Don’t freeze. To serve, allow to come to room temp or warm gently in the oven.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I microwaved a potato in place of almond meal for the base, then added 2 more eggs to the mix because 4 didn’t look enough to bind the potato and spinach together. I roasted a capsicum and had that and some olives on the side. Good.
ooh my Irishman would be all over your potato version MArk – actually I love that idea of using vegetables as the base instead of the almond meal. Thanks for the idea!
My go-to veggie for smushing up like potatoes, is rutabaga, aka swede. If I hadn’t read your mention of this recipe in the meal plan email, I would not have tried this recipe, since neither of us can deal with smoked salmon. But I like the idea of ham or salami.
oh yes – I’ll have to try some swede this Winter – or parsnip.
We really enjoyed this tart but ate only 2/3 and had remainder as a light meal with some coleslaw – Good as it’s a warm day here.
I am lactose intolerant so used some lactose free cream cheese and milk instead of the cream. I also chopped up some of the salmon and mixed it with the spinach and added an extra week. Another recipe I’ll cook again.
Glad you enjoyed the tart Margot!
I made a dairy-free version with chorizo instead of the salmon and water instead of cream and it worked really well.
Made this for Mother’s Day lunch yesterday. So good!
Skipped the spinach (served with a broccoli salad instead). Used sour cream and 150g (5oz) flaked hot smoked trout which I cooked in with the eggs and sour cream.
Was short on time so cooked it at 220C (425F) for 20 minutes.
Perfection.
Had a little extra sour cream so served it with an extra dollop.
And used a combo of finely chopped walnuts and ground hemp seeds instead of the almond meal – beautiful crust.
Hi Jules
Like your Irishman I am not a great fan of cold smoked salmon but I do like hot smoked – I ended up with something that was really a cross between this and your cheese and kale tart. I put fresh baby spinach over the almond base, then a layer of grated cheese topped with crumbled hot smoked salmon and then poured an egg and cream mix over the top and baked until it was golden and set. Looked stunning and got great feedback from adult son who is not really pro ‘fish’.
Loved how simple the almond crumb was instead of the fuss of making pastry – so much quicker. I threw this together and into the oven in about five minutes.
Hoping to keep a piece to try cold but the gannets are circling!
Thanks for this one
Jane
So glad you adapted it to suit your preferences Jane!
I love this almond crust so much too 🙂
Jx