(Above: La Tourte De Blettes translates to Swiss Chard Pie. But don’t let that fool you. This can be served as a sweet dessert or the main course for a light supper.)
Here’s a savory sweet pastry from our Southern France meal plan. I made this from a recipe card I picked up in the market in St. Remy last summer. Although there was an English translation, it wasn’t that good and so I had to figure out a few things, including the conversion of some measurements from grams to ounces.
I also used a 10-inch round springform pan instead of an 11 x 8 x 1 inch tart pan (who has one of those?) and so there was leftover dough to make a few apple turnovers.
(APPLE TURNOVER BONUS: If you have left over dough, simply roll it out. On one half, add peeled and sliced apples with some brown sugar, cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg and a slice of butter. Roll over other half of dough to cover apples. Seal edges. Brush with cream or milk. Prick with fork to create several steam holes and cook in a 350 oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Makes a nice after-school or after-work snack).
Although the mixture of ingredients may sound strange — mixing swiss chard with raisins and parmesan cheese — they work well together to create a dish that can be served as a main course with a salad or as a dessert. It’s a sweet and savory tried-and-true classic that has been enjoyed in Provence for many generations.
LA TOURTE DE BLETTES
Ingredients
- For the pastry dough:
- Flour (About 4 1/2 cups)
- Eggs (2 large)
- Sugar (2/3 cup)
- Butter (2 sticks or 8 oz. of softened butter)
- Salt (just a pinch)
- Water (About 1/2 cup or a little more
- just enough to make the dough)
- For the filling:
- Swiss chard (1 bunch or about a dozen large leaves)
- Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup, grated)
- Brown Sugar (3/4 cup)
- Golden Raisins (4 oz., I used regular dark raisins but the recipe calls for light golden ones)
- Marc or Grappa (Just enough to cover the raisins to marinate them.)
- Olive oil (1 tablespoon)
- Pine nuts (4 oz.)
- Eggs (2 large)
- Apples (about 1-2 large, peeled and sliced)
- Powered sugar (just enough to dust the torte after it’s cooked).
Directions
- Step 1 Combine all of the ingredients for the pastry dough in a small bowl, adding the water a little bit at a time at the end until most of the flour and ingredients are absorbed and a good ball of dough is formed.
- Step 2 Turn out the ball of dough onto a floured board and knead several times until the ingredients are mixed well and a smooth dough is formed. Form a ball with the dough, put it back in the bowl, cover with a towel and put in a cool place (the refrigerator is a good spot). Let rest about an hour.
- Step 3 Soak the raisins in either Marc or Grappa in a small bowl. Let rest about an hour.
- Step 4 Wash the swiss chard and strip it from its stem (you can throw out the stems or save for another day). An easy way to do this is to make your hand like a cat’s claw and drag the stem between your forefinger and middle finger. Boil swiss chard in a covered pot for just a few minutes. Take it out. Drain well and chop it. Place it in a bowl.
- Step 5 Drain the raisins and add to the bowl with the swiss chard. Add all other filling ingredients, except for the apples and powdered sugar, and mix well.
- Step 6 Butter your tart tin or springform pan.
- Step 7 Cut pastry dough into two equal pieces. Roll out one of the pieces on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin until it’s flat (about 1/4 inch thick). Cut dough to fit your tart tin or springform pan with some dough coming up the sides. Press the bottom and sides of the pan with the dough.
- Step 8 Add the filling. Top with the peeled and sliced apples.
- Step 9 Roll out the remaining piece of dough. Place it ontop being careful to seal the ends by pinching it all around. Take a fork and prick the top so that steam can escape while it cooks.
- Step 10 Place in a 350 oven until golden. This took about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check it from time to time to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Step 11 Cool on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
