Provençal Zucchini and Swiss Chard Tart

- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1recipe whole wheat yeasted olive oil pie pastry
- 1pound Swiss chard
- Salt to taste
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, finely chopped
- 2pounds zucchini, cut in small dice (¼ to ⅓ inch)
- 2 to 3large garlic cloves (to taste), minced
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 to 2teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (to taste)
- 2ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (½ cup, tightly packed)
- 3large eggs, beaten
- Freshly ground pepper
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem the greens, and wash them thoroughly in several rinses of water. If the ribs are wide, wash and dice them, then set aside. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add a generous amount of salt and the chard leaves. Blanch for one minute, until just tender. Using a slotted spoon or deep-fry skimmer, transfer to the ice water, then drain. Squeeze out excess water and chop. Set aside.
- Step 2
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet, and add the onion and diced chard stems, if using. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the zucchini. Season to taste with salt, and cook, stirring, until just tender and still bright green, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme and rosemary, and cook with the zucchini and onion until the garlic is fragrant, about one or two minutes. Stir in the greens, toss everything together, and remove from the heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (to taste), the zucchini mixture, and the Gruyère. Mix everything together, add pepper, taste once more and adjust seasoning.
- Step 4
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 10-inch tart pan. Roll out two-thirds of the dough and line the pan, with the edges of the dough overhanging. Freeze the remaining dough. Fill the lined pan with the zucchini mixture. Pinch the edges of the dough along the rim of the pan. Place in the oven and bake 50 minutes, until set and beginning to color. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving (preferably longer). This can also be served at room temperature.
- Advance preparation: The blanched greens will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator in a covered bowl. The finished tart keeps for a few days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently at 275 degrees to re-crisp the crust. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Private Notes
Comments
The whole wheat yeasted olive oil pie pastry was new to me as lining for a savory tart. Indeed, making it was easy (the recipe makes two crusts) putting it in the tart pan and serving it was a breeze. I added some porcini mushrooms, some pre-fried bacon pieces, and fresh herbs. The tart needed some spark though and I sprinkled medium hot pepper on top which helped. Pepper flakes in the filling might also work. Stores well and is versatile.
My husband declared the tart a "make again". I did use a prepared pie crust, but the result was yummy just the same!
Subbed Jarlsberg cheese for gruyere to $ave. Used frozen pie crust (blind baked - feedback from friends was they preferred it blind baked because usually savory tarts have raw-textured crusts). Sauteed onions, then added chard stems, then thinly sliced zucchini, then chard leaves, which left the veggie mixture dry enough. Blanching the chard leaves would have made the time to payoff ratio too high.
When I made this, it made a huge pile of vegetables that would not be able to fit in my 10-1/2" tart pan. It easily looked like enough for two tarts. Since the crust recipe makes two crusts, I used both of them. I doubled the eggs and Gruyere and the result nicely filled two tart crusts. As others have said, I did not blanche the chard--just cooked it down with the onion, chopped chard stems, and zucchini.
H and I are at odds over this one - I find it a poor substitute for something more umami, H said it was “better than that shepherds pie” I like to make. I will say that despite there being liquid in the zucchini/chard mix when I plopped it all into the crust, it still came out perfectly done. Sliced like a pie, clean bottom, not soggy. Just kind of bland and uninteresting imo - gave four stars bc H finally enjoy a veggie-forward dish
Used shallots since I had a lot of them from CSA, and found this to have plenty of flavor!
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