Tarte of Spinage (Spinach Pie) is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a pie containing a filling of spiced spinach. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of Tarte of Spinage.
Take Spynage and perboyle it tender, then take it up and wrynge oute the water cleane, and chop it very small, and set it uppon the fyre wyth swete butter in a frying panne and season it, and set it in a platter to coole then fyll your tart and so bake it
To make short paest for tarte
Take fyne floure and a curscy of fayre water and a dysche of swete butter and a lyttel saffron, and the yolkes of two egges and make it thynne and as tender as ye maye.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
550g spinach
115g butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp each of mace and salt
For the Pastry:
225g flour
90g softened butter
2 egg yolks
6 saffron threads ground into 1 tbsp water in a pestle and mortar
Method:
Bring a pan of unsalted water to the boil add the spinach and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately rinse under cold water before wringing the spinach dry. Heat the butter in a frying pan, add the spices and fry the spinach in this for 2–3 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
To make the pastry for the pie crust sift the flour into a bowl, add the saffron threads and their steeping water along with the egg yolks and mix together well. First add 3/4 of the softened butter and mix in well. If all the flour does not come together into a dough add a little more butter. Once the dough comes into a ball cut it into two pieces (one slightly larger than the other). Roll the larger piece of dough out and use this to line a 22cm pie dish. Cut off the excess pastry around the edge and fill the middle of the pie with the spinach mixture. Next roll the smaller piece of pastry out and use this to place on top of the pie. Use the back of a fork to crimp the upper and lower pieces of pastry together then pierce the top pastry a few times to allow steam to escape as the pie cooks.
Cook in an oven pre-heated to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) for about 40 minutes or until the upper crust has just turned a golden colour. Brush the top surface of the pie with a mixture of sugar, molten butter and cinnamon. Serve.
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