Lucques' Swiss Chard Tart w/ Red Onion & Currant Relish


I like having all that Swiss chard in the garden, not that I use it often, but it just looks so pretty with its rainbow stems waving at me.

I mostly just throw it in frittatas, since you don't eat it raw (but I guess you can?).

I have made a tourte aux blettes before, but here the queen (that would be Suzanne Goin), gets you involved in her intricate recipes from her wonderful book Sunday Suppers at Lucques.


She will have you dicing, slicing, making salsa verde, sweating onions, caramelizing peaches, pitting cherries and olives, sauteeing the chili peppers w/ the herbs first, and this is just for the side note condiment that accompanies the main dish!!!!

The efforts are always worth it, but I have learned.

I shorten the recipes anyway I can.
By throwing the onions in WITH the currants, and maybe combining the chard WITH the ricotta.

I love her recipes, and everything I have made from the book (even using my shortcuts) have been excellent, including this tart.


I made the red onion relish, using big bodacious red onions from my garden, and instead of cooking down the balsamic vinegar to make a syrup, I cooked the onions and currants WITH the vinegar at the end.

The result was fabulous, and I will be using this condiment for many other recipes. Loved it.

I omitted the goat cheese, because of you know who (he hates it).

I will write out the original recipe and also include the changes I made.
You decide.

I served this as a lovely garden dinner (chard, scallions, carrots and red onions all from our garden), along w/ roasted carrots w/ mustard vinaigrette (recipe to follow).


Lucques' Swiss Chard Tart w/ Red Onion & Currant Relish:

1 frozen sheet of all butter puff pastry (8 x 12 inches)
2 extra large egg yolks
1 large bunch rainbow Swiss Chard, cleaned and chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/2 cup whole milk fresh ricotta, drained if wet
1/4 cup creme fraiche (I omitted, too rich)
6 ounces semi aged goats cheese (I did not use) for the top


Currant & Pine Nut Relish:

1/2 cup pine nuts
a few tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig rosemary
1 chile de arbol (or hot pepper flakes)
3/4 cup finely diced red onion (I used 1 large red onion)
1/3 cup dried currants
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
sea salt and pepper

To make the relish my way:

Toast the pine nuts in a skillet or toaster oven for a minute or two (careful, they burn easily).

Heat some olive oil in a heavy skillet and cook the chili and sprig of rosemary until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the onions and cook on low for 10 minutes, until soft.

Add in the currants and balsamic vinegar and cook another few minutes until most of the vinegar has absorbed.

Add in the nuts at the end.

Discard the rosemary sprig and set aside.
Can be made days ahead and kept in the fridge (this was so yummy, I will make this for sandwiches).


For the roasted carrots with mustard vinaigrette:

a bunch of big, FRESH carrots, preferably from the farmer's market or your garden (they taste so much better).

Cut the carrots in half, or into quarters if too big.

Make a dressing of a tsp of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch of dried thyme, sea salt & pepper.
Add in a few tablespoons of olive oil and whisk with a fork to emulsify.


Pour over the carrots and roast in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes, turning over once.


Now for the tart:

Roll out the dough to fit on a rectangular baking sheet and rollover about 1" on the ends to make an edge.

Cook the chard in a skillet w/ a splash of water & salt until wilted (cooks very quickly, like spinach). Set aside to cool.

Mix the ricotta w/ the egg yolks, scallions, creme fraiche (if using) and thyme and spread on top of the rolled out puff pastry.

Place the sauteed chard on top of the ricotta and dot with goat cheese (if using).

Obviously, you can see that I did not use the goat cheese on top and I did not want my chard to burn. So, I combined the ricotta WITH the cooked chard (like you would a lasagne filling) to save the day.

Bake in a 400F oven for about 25-30 minutes until the pastry is puffed.


Top with the delicious red onion currant relish and enjoy!

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Comments

Natalia said…
Up to now, I've only used the swiss chard from my garden for soups, but this is a great idea! I also like your idea of pairing this dish with the roasted carrots.

Natalia
mil said…
Dil,

NOW!! you're talkin'... something easy... quick to put together... right up my alley. Thanks.. can't wait to try it.
Love,
Mil
Joanne said…
That red onion relish! My heart just skipped a beat.
Patsy said…
I know what you mean about that cookbook. Beautiful, inspiring, but very tedious and hard even for experienced cooks. Thanks for the great ideas to shorten the process and still enjoy the awesome results. Oh...and I'm with "you know who"...omit the goat cheese!
Love this! How nutritious and beautiful! And thanks for trying to simplify, even slightly, her recipe. We love the book, but it can seem like a chore sometimes, right? We're going to feature this on our Facebook page and link here so people can see how you made it, and your lovely photography. If you wish, come LIKE us on Facebook for more recipes and tips on super healthy greens like kale, chard, beet, mustard, turnip, collard and other green leafies. https://www.facebook.com/Cut.n.Clean.Greens

--Your friendly Southern California farmers at Cut 'N Clean Greens