RECIPES
BasiaSwiss chard tart
Tart is one of my favorite ways to make lunch or dinner, and even dessert. That's the thing, it's basically universal. The base is a delicious, buttery crust, and the filling can be anything you like, sweet or savory.
This time I have a tart with Swiss chard for you (you can find my other tarts HERE).
mangold
Swiss chard (leaf beet/mangold) comes in two varieties, stalk and leaf. It's a vegetable I only discovered this season, and I'm so glad I did, because it's really tasty and healthy, too.
Swiss chard contains a lot of vitamin K, plus vitamins E and A, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. To me it tastes a bit milder than the popular botwinka, the young leaves of the red beet (unfortunately I have a small naming problem here, because it's not the same thing as the popular young beet leaves that are used to cook, for example, botwina, a Polish beet greens soup). However, because of its high oxalic acid content (which drops significantly during cooking), it shouldn't be eaten raw. This is important for people with kidney problems (e.g. kidney stones), who should eat it only in minimal amounts.
The tart I'm presenting today was a pleasant surprise. It's light and easy to make. The flavor is mild and juicy, and it looks beautiful and colorful. The raisin vinaigrette gives it a bolder taste.
The recipe comes from the magazine "essen & trinken" 5/2011.
Swiss chard tart with raisin vinaigrette
Ingredients:
(serves 4-6)
Raisin vinaigrette:
- 25 g raisins
- 1 red chili (I used a green one)
- 50 ml white wine
- 4-5 tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp finely grated organic lemon zest (I used lime)
- salt
- 6-7 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 sprigs lemon thyme
Tart:
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g softened butter
- salt
- 20 g pine nuts (I used 10 g pine nuts + 10 g slivered almonds)
- 700 g Swiss chard
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- pepper
- oil and flour for the pan and for kneading
- 200 g thick cream
- 3 eggs (size M)
- cayenne pepper
- 40 g pitted black olives
- 80 g cherry tomatoes
- 80 g sheep's milk cheese (e.g. feta)
Also needed:
- parchment paper
- dried peas or beans
Swiss chard tart with raisin vinaigrette
Finely chop the raisins. Cut the chili in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and chop it. Heat the wine and raisins in a small pot over low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until the wine has almost completely evaporated. Remove from the heat, add the wine vinegar, then stir in the chili, lemon zest, a little salt and the olive oil. Add the chopped thyme leaves, pour into a small bowl and set aside.
Knead the flour, butter, ½ tsp salt and 3 tbsp cold water into a smooth dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet (no oil). Wash the Swiss chard and cut off the stems (don't throw them away). Cut the stems and leaves (separately) into ½ cm pieces. Sauté the stems in a skillet with olive oil for about 3-4 minutes. Add the leaves and sauté for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl and let cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Lightly grease a 22 cm tart pan with oil and dust it with flour. Roll the dough out into a circle about 25 cm in diameter, then lay it in the pan, press the edges and trim off the overhanging dough. Place parchment paper on the dough, fill the bottom of the pan with peas and bake for 20 minutes on the lowest rack.
Mix the cream and eggs and season well with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix the pine nuts, olives and tomatoes with the Swiss chard.
When the crust is baked, remove the parchment paper with the peas. Spread the Swiss chard mixture over the crust and pour the egg mixture over it. Bake at 200°C (400°F) on the second rack from the bottom for 30-35 minutes. When it's done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve right away with the vinaigrette.
Enjoy!
