Savory Clafoutis With Corn And Swiss Chard Food

BASIC CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and butter until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into a cast iron skillet or pie pan.
• 2. Now add your favorite fruit or flavoring (see below). Bake until the clafoutis is beautifully puffed and golden, 35-40 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Clafoutis Variations: Concord Grape Clafoutis: Once the batter is in the skillet, scatter 2 cups slightly crushed Concord or other black or red grapes on top. Cherry Clafoutis: Scatter 2 cups pitted cherries onto the batter once it's poured into pie plates. Pear Clafoutis with Pear Eau de Vie: Core 1 ripe pear and cut into pieces. Pour the batter into the skillet and top with the pear pieces. Bake. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons eau de vie and serve immediately. Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Clafoutis: Melt 1 cup chopped milk chocolate in a large mixing bowl set above a simmering pot of water. Fold in the clafoutis batter until smooth and fully incorporated. Pour into a skillet or pie plate, sprinkle with 1/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, and bake.

SAVOURY SWISS CHARD TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan and fry the shallots until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Remove to a plate. In the same pan, fry the bacon until the fat has rendered and the lardons are crispy. Remove to the plate with the shallots. Divide the chard leaves from the ribs: chop the ribs quite small and shred the leaves. First, fry the ribs in the bacon fat until tender.
• Beat the eggs together with the creme fraiche, and season with salt, and pepper.
• In a large bowl, toss the shallots, bacon, chard stems and leaves, cheese, raisins, and pine nuts, to combine evenly. Taste, and season. Fill the tart shell with the vegetable mixture, and pour over the cream mixture. Bake until the tart has set, about 30 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven, and cool. Serve at room temperature.

MISSION FIG CLAFOUTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Make the batter: Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and milk until well blended. Add about 1/3of the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to form a paste, then gradually incorporate the remaining egg mixture. Whisk until well blended.
• Cook the figs: With the tip of a knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod into an ovenproof 10-inch cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Add the pod and the butter and cook over moderately high heat until the butter turns nut brown. Add the figs and cook, stirring often, for about 1 minute to soften them. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Sprinkle the figs with the granulated sugar, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook until the the sugar has melted and is coating the figs in a light syrup. Add the grappa or other brandy, swirl the pan briefly, then spread the fruit evenly in the pan.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Working quickly, pour the batter through a sieve evenly over the fruit. Bake until the edges of the clafouti are puffed and browned and the center is set, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• Put some confectioners' sugar in a sieve and generously dust the surface of the clafouti. Serve warm directly from the pan with a dollop of creme fraiche.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Swiss Chard should be chopped into pieces about 2" square.
• Heat oil in a wok or skillet.
• Saute garlic for about 1 minute.
• Have high heat and saute the swiss chard for about2-3 minutes. (Water clinging to the leaves is enough liquid to cook the chard).
• Toss (do not over cook) until just wilted and getting soft.
• Season with pepper and serve.

SWISS CHARD WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Place the raisins or currants in a bowl and pour on hot water to cover. Soak 10 minutes and drain.
• Fill a bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the chard. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to the bowl of ice water and let sit for a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop coarsely.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the chard stems and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute or just until the garlic begins to smell fragrant. Add the chopped greens and raisins or currants and toss together until they are well coated with oil and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

LINGUINE WITH SWISS CHARD AND GARLIC

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat.
• Add bread crumbs and cook, stirring constantly until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Scrape into a small bowl and stir in Parmesan cheese.
• Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes.
• While pasta cooks, wipe out skillet.
• Add remaining oil to skillet and heat over medium heat.
• Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to taste.
• Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is golden but not brown, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in Swiss chard.
• Stir in salt and 1/4 cup water.
• Cook, stirring occasionally until Swiss chard is tender, about 8 minutes.
• Add additional water if chard becomes dry.
• Drain linguine and return to pot, add Swiss chard, and toss to combine.
• Serve sprinkled with crumbs.

PASTA WITH SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 1 minute to soften. Add the Swiss chard. Cook and stir until the stems of the chard are tender. You can use some of the hot pasta water to help steam the chard in the covered pan.
• Stir the hot spaghetti into the chard mixture along with the capers. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and drizzle with lemon juice if desired. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.

BRAISED SWISS CHARD WITH CURRANTS AND FETA

Steps:

• Cut stems and center ribs from chard, discarding any tough parts near base, then cut stems and ribs crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Coarsely chop leaves.
• Cook garlic in oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chard stems and ribs, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add currants and cook, stirring, until plump, about 1 minute. Add chard leaves and water and increase heat to moderate, then cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until leaves are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in feta.

SWISS CHARD AND RICOTTA CORNMEAL CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• Pizza Dough:.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer (warmed with hot water and wiped dry), combine yeast with 1/2 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved. Stir in 1 cup flour (mixture will become thick and stiff). Cover with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Add oil, milk, salt and 1 cup warm water. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with paddle attachment. With mixer on low, slowly add remaining flour and cornmeal. Mix into a soft dough. Change to a dough hook; knead 15 minutes, until sticky.
• Form dough into a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough, knead a few times and reshape into a ball. Return to bowl, cover and let sit until nearly doubled, about 40 minutes. Divide into 4 balls; reserve 2 for later use.
• Using your hands, stretch a ball of dough into a disk; using a rolling pin, roll into a thin 10-inch circle. Transfer to a heavy baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Repeat with other ball of dough.
• Pizza Topping:.
• Strip Swiss chard leaves from stems. Chop stems, tear leaves; set aside, separated. Place bacon in sauté pan; set over medium heat. Cook until fat has rendered and bacon just begins to brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Pour off all but a little fat from the pan; add garlic. Cook until golden, 2-3 minutes. Add Swiss chard stems. Cook 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add leaves and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 450°; Divide greens evenly between the 2 pizzas, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Crumble ricotta over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan,mozarella (if using) and bacon. Bake until brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking. Sprinkle with sea salt and red pepper flakes before serving.

LEEK AND SWISS CHARD TART

Steps:

• Roll out pastry on floured work surface to 12-inch square. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold under; crimp edges. Cover; chill.
• Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until leeks are very tender but not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add chard; saut until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Whisk cream and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in cooled leek mixture. Pour filling into crust.
• Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake until filling is puffed and just set in center, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes.