Witch tomb: savory tart for Halloween party

ingredients for the witch tomb
  • For the dough
  •  
  • 350 g (12 1/4oz) all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
  • 18 g (1/2oz) fresh yeast
  • 200 ml (7 1/4fl oz) warm water
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  •  
  • For the filling
  •  
  • 600 g (1lb and 5 1/4oz) frozen spinach
  • 200 g (7 1/4oz) fresh salmon fillet
  • 50 g (1 3/4oz) raw ham in slices
  • 200 g (7 1/4oz) potatoes
  • 50 g (1 3/4oz) young fresh onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 2 sun dried tomatoes
  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Sliced bread
  • Sliced cheese
  • Some cherry mozzarellas
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • Tomato paste in a tube
  • Salmon spread in a tube
  • Black olive paté in a tube
  • Salt
  • Difficulty:
    difficult
  • Time:
    preparation: 60 minutes
    cooking: 60 minutes
    total: about 2 hours
  • It serves :
    4 or more people
  • Note:
    Make this recipe with your kids to prepare your Halloween party menu

This savory tart is long to do but it's worth doing it for your Halloween menu for a lot of reasons.
First of all ask your kids to help you. If they work with you they'll feel more important. Then they'll enjoy themselves a lot in decorating the tart and giving their own tips.
Obviously this is only a tip!
Besides this savory tart is very tasty, reallly! And it's very amusing to dismantle it piece by piece. Enjoy this eat-together!
You'll need a lot of ingredients but if you have anything left you can make other savory recipes or canapés.
For example you can prepare the terrified eyes using cherry mozzarellas. Bulging eyes are a cult at Halloween, aren't they? We don't like them but a lot of people prepare them in different ways.

But what's the meaning of this savory tart? Its rectangular shape and edge remind the typical bed in a cemetery. The spinach and chives in little bunches remind the grass. The cherry mozzarellas remind the stones in the grass.
The tomb is traditional. The tomstone has the letters RIP (rest in peace). And then the image of the witch that should be buried there. But is it true? there is a question mark and a shadow that is stretching ...

Here's the recipe!

Prepare the dough. If you have enough time you can prepare the pizza dough following our directions (pizza dough recipe) but remember to use the amount of flour suggested in this recipe. Besides use 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. You'll use the fourth tablespoon to grease the baking pan.
If you haven't enough time buy ready-to-cook pizza dough (more than 500 g - 1lb and 1 1/2oz).

Prepare the spinach. Put a tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion, spinach (still frozen) and sun dried tomatoes cut into very little pieces. Remember to soak the dried tomatoes in cold water for at least 15 minutes. Cook on very low heat, half-covered, stirring often and adding a bit of wine if liked. Keep on cooking until the spinach are thawed and the cooking juice is well reduced.
Cut the raw ham into thin strips and add to the spinach once switched off the gas. Season to taste with salt and stir but be careful: the raw ham and dried tomatoes are rich in salt.

Prepare the salmon and potatoes. Steam the salmon fillet for some minutes and then remove its skin and dice it.
Peel and cut the potatoes into small pieces and brown them in a tablespoon of olive oil together with rosemary, in a non-stick frying pan, on very low heat. When the potatoes are almost ready add the salmon too. Season to taste with salt once cooked.
Put half the potatoes and salmon through a food mill. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil and stir. You must have a very firm cream.

Cook the savory tart and tomb. Grease a baking pan (25-by-33 cm / 10-by-13 inch) and a small plum cake mold with a tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle the two pans with some flour.
Divide the risen pizza dough into two parts, a smaller piece (about 1/3) and a larger piece (about 2/3).
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°C).
Roll out the larger piece into a rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface and then line the baking pan with it. Shape the rim as you can see in the photo. Help yourself with the blade of a knife. Spoon in the spinach mixture and level the surface.
Roll out the second, smaller piece of pizza dough on a floured surface and line the plum cale mold trying to reconstruct the tomb. Look at the photo for more details. Our tip is to prepare the tomb in a single piece for the best result. Full it with dried beans.
Bake both the tarts for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the surface is golden. The tomb may need less time to complete its cooking.

Prepare the decorations. Meanwhile the savory tart and its tomb are baking prepare the details of the witch tomb: the lid and tombstone.
Cut some rectangles out of the bread slices. Two rectangles will be the lid. The third rectangle will be the tombstone so you have to shape it as you can see in the photo.
At this point cut the lid and tombstone out of the sliced cheese but remember both must be lightly larger then bread pieces.
Compose the lid. Spread abundant salmon-and-potato cream on a bread rectangle and lay the second over it. Then spread abundant salmon-and-potato cream over its surface. Place the cheese lid on the top and press lightly.
Compose the tombstone in the same way but using the only bread piece you have cut out.
Using the tomato paste and salmon spread write R.I.P. and Here I'm, question mark included on the tombstone and lid. Look at the photo for more details. Remember to put apart some salmon-and-potato cream.
If you want to make the witch medallion follow these directions. Cut the image of a witch out of a paper and glue it on a round Bristol board. Decorate it according to your taste. Place it on the lid using a piece of oven paper (hide the paper accurately) to isolate it from the cheese.

The last step. Once baked the two tarts place the tomb on the savory tart with spinach filling as you can see in the photo. Fill the tomb with the remaining salmon-and-potato mixture and level the surface.
Spread the tomstone with the remaining salmon-and-potato cream and apply the decoration made with bread-and-cheese pieces. Press lightly.
Cover the tomb with its lid made before.
The final touch is the witch's shade. Use the black olive paté helping yourself with a teaspoon.
Look at the photo for more details.
Your Halloween savory tart is ready!

Note

  • - For a more attractive way: turn off the lights and serve it on a platter surrounded by candles as you can see in the photo.
  • - It is impossible to specify how many people it serves exactly. It depends on the menu you'll plan.