Swiss Chard Torta Recipes

SWISS CHARD AND LAMB TORTE WITH FENNEL-POMEGRANATE RELISH

Steps:

• Prepare the torte: Place rice in a heat-proof bowl. Bring 3 cups water to a boil, pour over rice, and let stand uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water. Separate the bottom stems from the leaves of the Swiss chard, dicing the stems and setting aside. Blanch the leaves, in batches if necessary, by placing them in the boiling water for 20 seconds, then use tongs to transfer them to the ice bath. Drain the leaves and spread them out to dry in a single layer on paper towels.
• Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, add 1/4 cup olive oil and sauté onions and chopped chard stems, about 10 minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
• Drain the rice and pour it into a large bowl. Add lamb, sautéed onion and chard stalks, pistachios, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel seeds, mint leaves and 1/4 cup olive oil and mix thoroughly.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Take a round Dutch oven or other heavy 10-inch round pot with a lid and coat it with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Line the pot with a layer of the Swiss chard leaves, with the bottom ends of the leaves protruding from the pot. (Ideally you'd have at least a 3-inch overhang.) Place the rice-meat stuffing in the pot and fold the overhanging leaves over the top of the filling. If necessary, layer additional leaves on top to completely enclose the filling.
• Place chicken stock in a small pan over high heat; when it's hot, pour it over the torte. Cover the pot and transfer to oven. Let torte bake for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees and continue cooking for about 1 hour more, or until rice is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. (You can carefully peel away a leaf to check the rice, replacing it after you've tasted.)
• Meanwhile, prepare the relish: Using a food processor, pulse fennel bulbs and Serrano pepper until finely chopped, being careful not to overprocess. Turn fennel and chile mixture out into a medium bowl and add lemon juice, pomegranate syrup, pomegranate seeds and salt and mix to combine. Stir in olive oil and adjust salt to taste. Just before serving, mix in the mint leaves.
• When torte is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes, covered. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the torte; cover with a flat, round serving platter; and invert the pot to remove the torte. Serve decorated with fennel fronds and garnished with fennel, pomegranate and mint relish.

SWISS CHARD TORTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Add Swiss chard and cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Wrap in a towel, and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Unwrap, chop finely, and set aside.
• Place the cherry tomatoes in a small bowl. Using tongs, squeeze each tomato, crushing it slightly, and discarding as much skin as possible. Set aside.
• Place a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat, and add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté until soft and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add Swiss chard, parsley and basil. Sauté about 3 minutes. Stir in cherry tomatoes and remove from heat. Allow to cool.
• In a medium bowl whisk eggs with 3 tablespoons of the Parmigiano. Add Gruyere and whisk to blend well. Add to Swiss chard, and mix well. Add 1/3 cup green olives and 1/3 cup Kalamata olives; if desired, up to an additional 1/3 cup olives may be added. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
• With the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, grease a shallow 10-inch round baking dish or pie plate. Dust the bottom with 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs. Spread filling in the pan, dust with the remaining 3 tablespoons Parmigiano, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons bread crumbs and pine nuts. Bake uncovered until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

SWISS CHARD, RAISIN, AND PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• Bring raisins and water to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, 1 hour. Drain in a colander, then pat dry with paper towels. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Blanch chard in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Transfer chard with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain chard in a colander, then squeeze out excess water by handfuls. Coarsely chop chard.
• Whisk together egg, cream, granulated sugar, zest, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Stir in pine nuts, raisins, and chard until combined.
• Roll out larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15- by 11-inch rectangle and fit into tart pan (do not trim edges). Chill shell while rolling out top.
• Roll out smaller piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin into a 12- by 9-inch rectangle. Spread chard filling evenly into shell, then top with second rectangle of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll over edges of pan to seal tart and trim edges, discarding scraps. Cut 3 steam vents in top crust with a paring knife, then put tart in pan on a baking sheet. Bake until top is golden, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and cool 10 minutes, then remove side of pan. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Dust with confectioners sugar.

PIZZA RUSTICA (ITALIAN EASTER PIE RECIPE)

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of your food processor. Add cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a course meal. Add the egg and blend until combined.
• With the motor running begin adding a tbsp of ice cold water at a time until a dough is formed and wraps itself around the blade. I added 5 tbsps of water to my dough. Remove the dough from the food processor, shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

ITALIAN-STYLE SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• 1. Place the chard in a large stockpot with the rinse water still clinging to it and set on medium-high heat. When the chard begins to sizzle stir it and cover. Reduce heat to medium and cook until chard is wilted but still has texture and the leaves have turned dark green while the stems have turned a translucent grey, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat.
• 2. Heat at least 2 tablespoons of oil with the garlic in a skillet over medium heat and cook until the garlic begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add the Swiss chard, squeezing out some of the liquid before adding it to the oil. Cook, stirring, until the Swiss chard has wilted entirely and the garlic is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer to a warmed platter. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve.

TORTA VERDE (CHARD AND RICOTTA PIE) - LIGURIA

Steps:

• Mix the flour and salt and drizzle the oil in, mixing with a fork.
• Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together.
• Knead for 15 minutes until the dough forms a soft, smooth, and elastic ball. If the dough is too wet use floured hands to add a bit more flour until it is no longer sticky. If the dough is too hard then sprinkle a bit of water on the dough and work to combine the water. Cover with a wet towel for 2 hours.
• Oil a metal cake tin with olive oil. (If the tin is not metal, then the pastry might be soggy.)
• Divide the dough into two balls with ⅔ of the dough in one ball and ⅓ of the dough in the other ball. Roll out the larger ball on a floured surface stretching it with your hands to 38 cm in diameter and place into the prepared cake tin.
• Heat the oven to 190C.
• Strain the ricotta cheese.
• If using beet greens or chard, cut the ribs out. Wash the leaves well and cut finely with 1 ½ tablespoon of salt sprinkled over top and let sit for half an hour.
• Squeeze out the leaves to remove any moisture as you want the greens as dry as possible.
• Sprinkle the greens with 20 grams of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and marjoram.
• Stir to combine.
• Heat a large sauté pan and put 60 mls of the olive oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to low and add the onion.
• Cook the onion for 5 minutes or until soft.
• Add the sliced artichokes and 100 mls of water (if you are using frozen artichokes then turn the heat up to medium) and cook until the artichokes are soft (about 10 minutes) and the water has evaporated and then season with salt and pepper.
• Add the prepared chard, beet greens, and/or spinach leaves.
• Cook until the greens are soft and add the lemon juice and 60 mls extra virgin olive oil. Remove from the heat.
• In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and milk until the milk is absorbed.
• In another bowl, add the 4 eggs with 20 grams of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Beat the eggs and cheese together.
• Add the strained ricotta to the eggs. Mix together.
• Use a wooden spoon to mix the breadcrumbs and the egg mixture together.
• When the greens and artichokes are cool, add the egg breadcrumb mixture.
• Stir to combine and add 80 mls of extra virgin olive oil .
• Mix well.
• Evenly spread the filling into the cake pan with prepared crust with 1 inch of the crust hanging over the edge. Top the filling with some butter, salt and pepper, and 20 grams of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Roll the smaller ball to 32 cm and place on top of the filling. Wet the edge of the bottom crust and fold and crimp the edges. Pierce the top of the crust with a fork, using your finger to make indentations, drizzle 20 mls of olive oil over the top.
• Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and crispy.

SWISS CHARD AND HERB TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Put the flour, sugar and fine salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough just comes together, adding up to 2 more tablespoons ice water if needed. Transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk; wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a floured surface. Ease into the prepared pan and press into the bottom and up the side; trim to make a 2-inch-high crust. Prick the bottom a few times with a fork; refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the dough-lined pan on a baking sheet. Line the dough with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are just lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights; continue baking until the crust is lightly golden all over, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. (The crust can be made a day ahead; cover and store at room temperature.)
• Make the filling: Thinly slice the Swiss chard leaves and cut the stems into 1/4-inch slices. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chard stems, season with kosher salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the dill and lemon zest and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the chard leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Let the filling cool, then squeeze out the excess moisture.
• Transfer the filling to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the shredded cheddar, half-and-half, parmesan, egg and nutmeg. Pour into the crust and bake until set, 45 to 50 minutes. Top immediately with shaved cheddar and let melt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Wash and dry the chard leaves. Remove the stems and roughly chop the chard (follow the instructions in How to Cut Kale). If you'd like, thinly slice the tender part of the stems and add that to the mix (discard the large tough parts of the stems; or you can discard the stems entirely).
• Smash and peel the garlic cloves.
• Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the smashed garlic and chard and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently until wilted and bright green.
• Remove from the heat and add the kosher salt, red pepper flakes. and several grinds of fresh ground pepper.
• Discard the garlic cloves and serve immediately. If desired, serve with shredded Parmesan and toasted pine nuts.