Saturday, March 20, 2010

Zucchini and Swiss Chard Tart



A little while ago, I stumbled across David Lebovitz's blog and found the craziest recipe for tart crust ever. Pie and tart crusts are something that always intimidated me. Anyone can make a crust, but not many people can make a good flaky pie crust. This recipe doesn't call for the typical cold butter worked into flour *just so* with ice cold water. You basically dump a whole bunch of stuff into bubbling hot butter, and voila - a buttery, flaky crust. It's so easy to make, so I went on a pie and tart making bender.


This is one of the recipes that I made after going to the Farmer's Market in Neptune beach. Twinn Bridges had some beautiful Swiss chard that I had to use. The beauty of this recipe is that you don't have a top crust that will hide the pretty Swiss chard.


Adapted from New York Times

Ingredients
French Tart Dough
1 pound Swiss chard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 pounds zucchini, cut in small dice (1/4 to 1/3 inch)
2 to 3 large garlic cloves (to taste), minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (to taste)
2 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (1/2 cup, tightly packed)
3 large eggs, beaten
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper


Directions
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.
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.
3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste), the zucchini mixture, and the Gruyère. Mix everything together, add pepper, taste once more and adjust seasoning.
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.

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