Rainbow Chard. Say these two words to anyone who loves leafy greens and you’ll find yourself listening to praise in the sort of excited tones usually reserved for arguably more deserving foods, like ice cream. But if you’ve seen the beautiful chard sauntering around the CSA boxes and farmer’s markets recently, you’d be smitten, too. With its striking red, orange, and yellow-hued stems dipping into deep-green ruffled skirts, this is one good-looking vegetable that deserves to be treated well.

It seems like I just can’t get enough of chard these days, and as I searched for different ways to prepare it, paused on this recipe for a chard-filled yeasted tart. It looked quite appealing, with an inner texture reminiscent of a frittata or Spanish tortilla: a silky mixture of egg and chard, with herbs and cheese to suit your fancy. The presence of a yeasted crust, much lower in fat than a typical tart dough made of buttery pâte brisée, was the real clincher for me. I suppose I could have made a crustless quiche, but I really do love a nice crust…it’s just the richness of pure-butter ones seems a bit much for everyday eating.

I was pretty pleased with the recipe overall, although I tried to make it in a 9-inch tart pan and the filling did overflow a bit - an 11-inch pan is definitely the way to go (if you only have a smaller one, it might work to cut the milk by perhaps half to avoid wateriness). Actually, I might cut the milk anyway, as one friend found it slightly “wet” for his taste. The yeasted crust is pleasantly chewy and rather pizzalike. Do make sure to spray or grease your pan well, though, as it tends to stick a bit otherwise. This tart would make a lovely brunch item or light lunch (with some salad greens on the side if you’re a greens fiend, too). Although it’s good both warm and room temperature, I preferred it warm.

Swiss Chard Tart
Adapted from Wednesday Chef and Deborah Madison.

For Dough:
1 teaspoon active dry yeast (1/2 package)
1/4 cup warm water (about 100ºF)
pinch of sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional as needed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons sour cream

For Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 large bunches swiss chard (about 8 cups), roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk or half-and-half
3/4 cup grated Gruyère
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts

11-inch tart or pie pan

Dough:
Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water and set aside until foamy (about 5 minutes).

Put flour and salt into a food processor and process briefly to combine. Add the yeast mixture, egg, and sour cream, and pulse in short bursts until dough forms a ball, adding more flour if necessary. Once a ball has formed, remove it from the processor, dust lightly with flour, and set in an oiled bowl. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place, 45 minutes to an hour.

When dough has risen, flatten it and roll it into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Spray a tart or pie pan generously with cooking spray, and lay the dough into the pan, letting it come over the edge about 1/4 inch.

Tart:
Heat oven to 375ºF.

Beat eggs in a large bowl and add salt, pepper, thyme, 1/2 cup Gruyère, and milk.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and stir until translucent and beginning to turn golden. Add the garlic and stir for one minute, then add the chard. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until chard is wilted. Stir chard mixture into egg mixture until incorporated, then pour into prepared tart crust. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/4 cup Gruyère and pine nuts. Place filled tart on a baking sheet and bake at 375ºF for 30-40 minutes, or until the middle is solid and the cheese is starting to turn golden. Serve warm.

Posted by the cookworm on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 2:12 pm.