Carrot, Spinach and Preserved Lemon Tart

I made these tarts a little while ago with an excess of carrots in my veg bag. They have a really interesting and fab flavour and I would never have thought of putting carrots in a tart before but this really works. I took some shortcuts, I only used whole eggs and not yolks for the filling and milk instead of cream and I used normal full sized carrots cut down into batons. Also as you can see from the picture I made 4 small ones with half the recipe rather than one big tart, which is what the recipe below is for.

Carrot, Spinach and Preserved Lemon Tart (from The Telegraph)
(Serves 6-8)

2 tsp cumin seeds
250g plain flour
150g butter
1 egg yolk
½ - 1 tbsp very cold water

For the filling
300g spinach, any coarse stalks removed
15g unsalted butter
½ tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, very finely chopped
2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
about ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
400g peeled and trimmed baby carrots
40g preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 large eggs and 2 large yolks
325ml double cream
30g coriander leaves, finely chopped

Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for about 30 seconds. Leave to cool then bash with a mortar and pestle to break down a little.

Put the flour, butter, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt into a food processor and whizz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix the yolk with half a tablespoon of cold water, add it to the flour mixture and whizz again. Add another half tbsp of water if needed for the pastry to come together into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 mins.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface and line a 25-26cm loose-bottomed tart tin (3cm deep). Prick the bottom with a fork then chill in the fridge or freezer until cold and firm.

Preheat the oven to 200C and put in a metal baking-sheet.

Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake on the sheet for 10 mins then remove the paper and beans and cook for another 8 mins. Leave to cool. Lower the temperature to 180C. Use any leftover raw pastry to patch any cracks in the base.

Put the spinach into a saucepan with a couple of tbsp of water and wilt over a medium heat for 5 mins stirring occasionally. When it is completely wilted, leave until cool enough to handle, then squeeze all the water out with your hands. Chop roughly.

Heat half the butter and olive oil in a frying-pan and add the onion, cook gently until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic, cinnamon and spinach, season and continue to cook until the mixture is quite dry. Spoon it into the pastry case.

Heat the rest of the oil and butter in the same frying pan. Add the carrots and saute until golden in parts and quite dry. Stir in the preserved lemon and some seasoning and spoon into the tart case.

Mix the eggs, yolks and cream together in a jug. Add the coriander and season. Slowly pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables. Return the tart to the baking sheet and cook for 45 mins, or until the pastry is golden and the filling just set in the middle (it should still have a little give as it will continue to cook once out of the oven). Leave to cool for 15 mins then remove the tart ring and serve.