Tuesday Tart = Swiss Chard & Apple = Torte aux Blettes

Another strange sounding recipe on her blog today ("her", would be me).

I have so much Swiss chard in the garden, and it's almost November! It won't go away, and I don't even like it that much.
It's very pretty, but there is not much I use it for, so I don't think we will be planting it next year in the MCG.

This is a traditional Nicoise dessert in Nice, France, so it just may seem unusual to us.
Swiss chard w/ apples?
YES.

David Lebovitz posted this recipe and if you want to see what it is SUPPOSED to look like in Nice, France, click here, and here.

It traditionally is baked like a pie, with a top crust, dusted with powdered sugar, however, I thought I'd save calories, so baked it as an open tart with a bottom crust only, and though not pretty to look at, it tasted amazing.

My recipe is adapted from the book River Cottage Veg, another beautiful cookbook filled with 200 vegetable recipes as main dishes.

Many of the recipes for Torte aux Blettes call for Parmesan cheese, but I omitted the cheese.

This was simple and gorgeous, and it was best served warm.

Eat it for dessert or lunch, you decide!

Torte aux Blettes (adapted from River Cottage Veg):

recipe for pie crust as follows:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and lemon zest in food processor.

Add cold butter and pulse until butter is mostly combined with flour, but a few pea-sized pieces remain.

Add egg, egg yolk, and lemon juice, and pulse just to combine. If dough is too dry, add 1 tbsp. of ice cold water.

Dump dough out onto piece of wax paper or plastic wrap, cut in half, and shape into two disks. Cover disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate while making filling (you can also freeze the discs separately wrapped, for later use).

(This is enough dough for 2 pies, or just one pie with a top crust).

Press pastry into an 9" fluted tart pan (if using a top crust, then fit into a 9" pie dish).

Filling:
1 1/2 lbs. of Swiss chard, leaves only, stems discarded (I used rainbow chard)
zest of a lemon
1/3 cup of golden raisins,
3 tbsp of brandy or warm water to plump raisins
2 eggs
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (I did not use)
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 large apples (I used Golden Delicious), peeled

Wash the chard and place in a heavy lidded saucepan. With some water still clinging to the leaves, steam the chard for about 10 minutes with the lid on. You may have to add some water to the pan.

When chard is reduced to very little and wilted, squeeze out excess liquid and place chard in a bowl.

Plump the raisins in some warm water or brandy while the chard is cooking.
Add the raisins to the cooked chard in the bowl.

Mix in eggs, lemon zest, sugar, toasted pine nuts.

Peel the apples and grate them into the mixture.

Pour this mixture into the prepared pie crust and bake in a 350F oven for 40-45 minutes.
If using a top crust, dust with powdered sugar, if not then serve naked!

So good!

This is the Tuesday Tart.

Enjoy. :)