Hello lovelies, there are evenings when I have no appetite for a yeast dough at all but very much do want something thin and crisp out of the oven. That is exactly what this spinach tarte flambée with crème fraîche and almonds is for. The dough needs 4 ingredients and half an hour of resting, nothing more, and yet what lands on the table looks like a small restaurant made it.
The topping is essentially one single bowl: chopped baby spinach, crème fraîche, grated cheese, onion, garlic and a few sun-dried tomatoes, seasoned with lemon and a pinch of nutmeg. This pairing of spinach and dough is an old favourite here, and it also sits inside my savoury spinach rolls from the oven, simply rolled up instead of flat.
The only thing that really matters is that the spinach is dry. Washed spinach still dripping with water softens the base from above, and at that point even the hottest oven cannot save it. So I spin it like salad and pat it down again afterwards.
The flaked almonds look like decoration but they are the reason this tarte works. They turn golden in the oven and give the bite that a soft spinach topping does not have on its own. Toasted bread usually plays that part for me otherwise, for instance alongside my creamy baked feta gnocchi with spinach.
250 gr (9 oz.) of flour turn into 2 tartes, and that is exactly what I make use of when people come over: 2 bases, 2 different toppings, both cut into strips. If you would rather work with tomatoes than spinach, the second base is covered by my vegan tomato quiche.
I hope this tarte becomes as much of a default for you as it is for us, especially on the evenings when dinner simply has to be quick. And if you would rather stuff the same spinach into pasta than spread it on dough, my vegan cannelloni with spinach are standing by.
