White Bean and Spinach Verrines
One of the most fun and interesting pursuits when I have been in France is to look for cookbooks and cooking magazines. The presentation and visual appeal of French cookbooks and cooking magazines is wonderful, they seem to have a real sense of artistry in how food is presented.
Among the cookbook finds on my last two trips were the lovely petite glasses with layered food in them, called “verrines“. I brought back a cookbook and some magazines with these little lovlies , but had never actually made them. While beautiful, they require that you have several ingredients ready to layer, as well as tiny glasses, so I just never got around to actually making them. The glasses became a reality on my San Francisco trip to Sur La Table. Sitting right on a shelf were great glasses that were even tempered, so you could use them with hot stuff too. Then in Muskoka at Rich Hill Candles I also found very straight clear glasses that would also fill the bill.
So, I have finally made some verrines over the holidays. What I discovered is that they are not as easy as they look, getting those layers to show and look pristine in their colourful strata is no small feat.
My inspiration came when I found a Martha Stewart recipe in her December issue for a white bean and spinach dip. It was supposed to be a warm dip, but I thought the mixture would be fine cold as well. So what I did was use the concept of a white bean hummus concoction, and add some other colourful things. I happened to have some quail eggs in the fridge (I know you are groaning, doesn’t everyone have quail eggs in the fridge!) and had already been quizzed by my husband on what exactly I had bought those for when things were tumbling out of a very full holiday fridge….
Layering....So far so good....
What I learned is that these are very fiddly, especially keeping the sides of the glass clean so they really look artistic with a coordinated colour palette. I tired piping the bean mixture in first, that worked. Then I patted in the spinach, which worked but was getting harder to keep the layers even. After some debate with my children who are here for the holidays, and who are adults now with all sorts of opinions on how I should do things, I added stuff until I thought the verrines looked like little painted perfections. The other challenge, with flu cautions in the back of my mind, was not to lick my fingers as the gunk got all over them (I resisted, don’t worry!) The verrines were devoured for an aperitif with a very fragrant Gewurztraminer from Alsace, one of my favourite French wines. Will I make them again….I think so, they look lovely and tast good, maybe for a party of not more than 8 people, unless I have access retaurant sous chefs. I do however have newfound respect for these little lovlies, they are quite a challenge but appeal to one’s inner artist.
White Bean Spinach Verrines
Just waiting for the toppings to finish the painting....
White Bean Layer:
- 1 cups cooked white kidney beans (I used dry beans and cooked, but canned will do)
- 1 cups low fat ricotta cheese
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or more depending on taste, I used a little more but salt is very individual)
Process all this in a food processor as you would hummus. Adjust seasonings as necessary, especially salt. This makes more than you need, so just save the leftovers and mix with leftover spinach for some pate.
Spinach layer:
- 1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach (you will have leftovers to add to the leftover pate)
defrost frozen chopped spinach, then cook until tender with just a little water. Squeeze it dry, and add salt if you want.
Tomato Layer:
- 16 oz. bottle of homemade or bottled bruchetta, ground up in a food processor. I used bottled basil bruchetta, but drained it in a colander first
Toppings:
- 4 quail eggs (1/2 of a quail egg for each verrine) (okokhahaha, whatever you have on hand, maybe chopped regular eggs)
- capers, red pepper sticks
- a little balsamic vinegar to taste
Assemble the verrine, then let set in the fridge for a few hours to set.
Use the leftover tomato mixture as a layer in the bean pate you have left. I made double the bean mix and had 2, 8 oz bowls of pate as well. The pate is very good just with spinach mixed in and served with crackers of veggies.
