Spinach Tart, a.k.a. Spinatwähe

 This spinach tart is called Spinatwähe in Switzerland and is a huge hit with my kids. The traditional day to serve Wähe – cheese or sweet tarts – is on a Friday. This is because in many Catholic regions one does not eat meat on a Friday. In America and England many call this “fish Friday,” but in the mountains of Switzerland, having fish wasn’t always easy. However, there was always plenty of cream, cheese, vegetables and fruit in summer. So you will usually see a big assortment of Wähe available in the bakeries and supermarkets on a Friday (Wähetag). It’s so easy to make that we usually eat this at least once or twice a month. Sometimes I bake it early in the day and just warm it up or serve at room temperature for dinner.

For the piecrust:

You can also use store-bought pie dough, called Kuchenteig.

200 g flour
½ tsp salt
75 g butter, very cold, in small pieces
100 ml water (cold)

Mix the flour and salt together. Add the cold butter, using a pastry blender or your hands to mix it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly add the water until it becomes a slightly sticky dough.

Form into a circle and wrap in plastic wrap. Let cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

For the filling:

300 g Gruyère cheese (sharp or mild, according to your taste)
200 ml milk
200 ml cream (Rahm)
2 eggs
300 g chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained of liquid (press through a sieve)
Pinch of salt and pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 220 C.

Roll out the dough (to about 3 mm thick) on a floured surface, and place in a greased pie plate.

Using a fork, poke a few holes in the base of the piecrust.

Whisk all of the filling ingredients together, and pour into the piecrust.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until centre is firm but still gives a tiny jiggle. If the top begins to brown too quickly, lay a piece of aluminium foil over the top and continue to bake as usual.

Let cool and serve warm or room temperature.

By Stacey Streuli

Stacy is an American living in Switzerland since 2005, and the founder of SwissEats.ch, a food blog focused on cooking in Switzerland. She and her husband live in the countryside north of Zürich where they raise two rambunctious kids and a flock of chickens. 

This version of the recipe is linked to a special program whereby recipes can be saved and kept online in one place.

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