05 Apr spring onion pie

This week, I’ve gone green with a spring onion and ricotta tart, made easy through the use of shop-bought pastry.

Spring onion and ricotta tart (serves 4)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

1 x sheet ready rolled shortcrust pastry

1 teaspoon of butter

2 bundles of spring onions

4 eggs (2 yolks and 2 eggs)

250ml cream

150ml milk

Salt

Pepper

6 to 8 teaspoons of ricotta

1. Preheat your oven to 200c / 180c fan / Gas Mark 6. Grease a loose-bottomed 22cm tart tin with butter before lining it with your sheet of pastry. Let the excess hang over the top edge before using your hands to gently push the pastry snugly into the tart tin. Use a fork to prick the base. Cover with a sheet of baking paper and pour over baking beans (dried chickpeas will do nicely). Blind bake in the oven for 15 minutes. This gets the pastry going before you add the filling.

2. Melt your butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Finely chop the spring onions before frying for 3 minutes.

3. Pour the milk and cream into a large measuring jug. Add the two eggs and two egg yolks and mix well. Add the spring onions, a good pinch of salt and pepper, and mix again.

4. Pour the filling into your blind baked pastry. Dollop the teaspoons of ricotta over the top of the filling. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the filling has risen and the pastry is cooked through. Serve hot, warm or cold.

This recipe was first published in The Irish Independent on March 26th