Swiss Chard Tart Tourte De Blettes Food

SWISS CHARD AND HERB TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Put the flour, sugar and fine salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough just comes together, adding up to 2 more tablespoons ice water if needed. Transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk; wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a floured surface. Ease into the prepared pan and press into the bottom and up the side; trim to make a 2-inch-high crust. Prick the bottom a few times with a fork; refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the dough-lined pan on a baking sheet. Line the dough with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are just lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights; continue baking until the crust is lightly golden all over, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. (The crust can be made a day ahead; cover and store at room temperature.)
• Make the filling: Thinly slice the Swiss chard leaves and cut the stems into 1/4-inch slices. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chard stems, season with kosher salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the dill and lemon zest and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the chard leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Let the filling cool, then squeeze out the excess moisture.
• Transfer the filling to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the shredded cheddar, half-and-half, parmesan, egg and nutmeg. Pour into the crust and bake until set, 45 to 50 minutes. Top immediately with shaved cheddar and let melt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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.

SWISS CHARD, RAISIN, AND PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• Bring raisins and water to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, 1 hour. Drain in a colander, then pat dry with paper towels. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Blanch chard in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Transfer chard with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain chard in a colander, then squeeze out excess water by handfuls. Coarsely chop chard.
• Whisk together egg, cream, granulated sugar, zest, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Stir in pine nuts, raisins, and chard until combined.
• Roll out larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15- by 11-inch rectangle and fit into tart pan (do not trim edges). Chill shell while rolling out top.
• Roll out smaller piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin into a 12- by 9-inch rectangle. Spread chard filling evenly into shell, then top with second rectangle of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll over edges of pan to seal tart and trim edges, discarding scraps. Cut 3 steam vents in top crust with a paring knife, then put tart in pan on a baking sheet. Bake until top is golden, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and cool 10 minutes, then remove side of pan. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Dust with confectioners sugar.

SWISS CHARD TART (TOURTE DE BLETTES)

Steps:

• Make the dough by mixing together the flour, 1/3 cup (65 g) sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the olive oil and the eggs, mixing until the dough is smooth.
• Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other, wrap each in plastic and shape the two dough portions into disks. Chill for at least one hour. (Dough can be made up to two days in advance.)
• Wash the chard leaves very well, in several changes of water, until the water is clear and there is no grit in the leaves.
• Put the chard leaves in a saucepan with a bit of water and a pinch of salt. Cover, and cook the leaves until they're completely wilted, about 15 minutes.
• Drain the leaves and run cold water over them, turning them as you rinse. (This 'shock' helps set the color.) Once cool, squeeze the leaves very, very firmly to extract as much water from them as possible.
• Put the raisins in a small saucepan and pour just enough eau-de-vie or brandy over them to cover. Simmer for a minute or two, until the liquor is absorbed. Let cool to room temperature.
• Chop the Swiss chard and put it into a medium bowl. Coarsely chop the raisins and the pine nuts, and add them to the chard . Stir in the cinnamon, Parmesan, and 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, then mix in the eggs.
• To bake the tart, preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC)
• Lightly butter a 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. (No need to butter if it's a non-stick pan.)
• Dust both sides of the larger pieces of dough and roll it between two large sheets of parchment paper. About halfway through rolling, peel away the parchment and re-dust both sides of the dough with flour, then continue to roll the dough until it's the size that will fit into the bottom of the tart pan and go up the sides.
• Peel away the top piece of parchment and carefully overturn the dough on to the tart pan. Peel away the other piece of parchment and use your fingers and the heel of your hand to smooth the dough into place and even it out. (I use my thumbs and heel of my hand to make sure it goes up the sides as best as possible.)
• Spread the filling into the tart pan over the dough, then peel and thinly slice the apples, and lay them in an even layer over the Swiss chard filling.
• Roll out the other disk of dough as you did the lower one, between two parchment paper sheets, and transfer it to the tart pan to cover the tart filling.
• Use your fingers to seal the dough at the edges to enclose the filling. A few gaps are normal.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the dough is golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and dust the top with powdered sugar. Let cool before slicing.