Spinach, Goat Cheese and Tomato Muffins


I saw this recipe on taste.com and thought it was too pretty not to try. They're simple, delicious and look impressive! The original recipe called for fresh spinach but I used frozen chopped spinach, I also added some diced ham, but you could omit that and keep it vegetarian if you like.

You will need... (8 larger serves or 10 small serves)
25gr salted butter
200ml milk
1 cup chopped frozen spinach (or fresh baby spinach)
1 2/3 cup of self raising flour
2/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
100gr ham, diced
salt and pepper
80gr soft goats cheese (I used ash-coated Chevre)
8-10 vine-ripened cherry tomatoes

Method...
1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius fan-forced. Grease a 8 or 10 hole muffin pan (I actually filled 10, and made smaller serves)
2. Place milk, butter and spinach together in a microwave-proof bowl and heat on high for 30 or 40 seconds, until the milk is warmed, butter is melted and spinach is wilted.
3. Use a stick blender to process until smooth, then leave to cool slightly while grating and crumbling cheeses and sifting flour.
4. Mix the egg, parmesan, seasoning and flour to form a smooth batter. Add the ham then crumble the goats cheese in and fold carefully.
5. Spoon the mix into the greased muffin tray, prick the tomatoes a couple of times and place one in the top of each muffin, making sure they are roughly 1/3-1/2 deep in the mix.

6. Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 15 minutes (or 20 minutes for larger muffins), remove and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. Tuck in! Just beware of dripping tomato juices ;-)


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