SWISS CHARD TART (TOURTE DE BLETTES)

For the dough:

325 g flour

65 g sugar

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

80 ml olive oil

2 large eggs

For the filling:

1 kg Swiss chard leaves

80 g dried grapes (raisins)

20 ml brandy

50 g macadamia, toasted

½ tsp ground cinnamon

50 g mature cheddar cheese, freshly grated

100 g granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 red apples

Salt and pepper to taste

Make the dough by mixing together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the olive oil and the eggs, mixing until the dough is smooth.

Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other, wrap each in plastic and shape the two dough portions into disks. Chill for at least one hour.

Wash the chard leaves very well, in several changes of water, until the water is clear and there is no grit in the leaves.

Put the chard leaves in a saucepan with a bit of water and a pinch of salt. Cover, and cook the leaves until they’re completely wilted, about 15 minutes.

Shock the leaves in ice water. Once cool, squeeze the leaves to get them as dry as possible.

Place the raisins and brandy in a sauce pan and simmer for a minute or two, until the liquor is absorbed. Let cool to room temperature.

Chop the Swiss chard and put it into a medium bowl. Coarsely chop the raisins and the macadamia nuts, and add them to the chard.

Stir in the cinnamon, mature cheddar, and sugar, then mix in the eggs.

Peel and grate the apples into a bowl. Squeeze as much juice out of the apples using a clean kitchen towel. Mix in the grated apple and keep the filling at room temp.

To bake the tart, preheat the oven to 180 ºC.

Spray and cook your tart pan thoroughly.

Dust both sides of the larger pieces of dough and roll it between two large sheets of parchment paper. About halfway through rolling, peel away the parchment and re-dust both sides of the dough with flour, then continue to roll the dough until it’s the size that will fit into the bottom of the tart pan and go up the sides.

Peel away the top piece of parchment and carefully overturn the dough on to the tart pan. Peel away the other piece of parchment and use your fingers and the heel of your hand to smooth the dough into place and even it out. Ensure that enough dough hangs over the edge for placing the lid on.

Spread the filling into the tart pan, covering the dough.

Brush the bottom dough with some egg wash to ensure the dough will bond to the top layer. 

Roll out the other disk of dough in the same way as you did the lower one, between two parchment paper sheets, and transfer it to the tart pan to cover the tart filling. Make sure the lid is rolled out enough to overlap the tart.

Using a rolling pin roll over the dough to seal the edges and cut off the excess dough.

Bake for 40 minutes, until the dough is golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and dust the top with powdered sugar.

Let cool, slice and enjoy with a glass of 2018 La Motte Millennium.