Sformato – spinach and ricotta flan
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Hailing from Tuscany, sformato is a fascinating (and deeply delicious) dish, best described as a kind of savoury flan. This version, with spinach and ricotta as the star ingredients, is just one of many – cauliflower or mushrooms are also widely used. The texture is light yet creamy with a hint of nutmeg and a slight tang thanks to a good grating of pecorino.
First published in 2019
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 900g of spinach
- olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 250g of ricotta
- 40g of pecorino, grated (use a similar cheese made using vegetable rennet if serving to vegetarians)
- 4 eggs
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- lemon zest
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- fine semolina, for dusting
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
2
To being, wilt the spinach in a pan with a splash of water – you may need to work in batches. Remove from the pan and, once cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible. Roughly chop the spinach and place in a large bowl
3
Gently sauté the minced garlic in a splash of olive oil – you want it just soft, not crispy. Remove the garlic from the oil and add to the spinach
4
Drain the ricotta of excess liquid then stir into the spinach mixture with the eggs and pecorino until everything is incorporated
5
Season the mixture with nutmeg, cayenne, lemon zest, salt and pepper
6
Lightly oil an ovenproof dish then dust with semolina. Pour the spinach mixture into the dish and bake for 30–40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before serving
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