Reaping the harvest as quickly as possible

By Lynda Rego
Posted 9/24/16

These days, I feel as if I’m living on borrowed time. I pulled carrots and onions and am using the Swiss chard as quickly as I can. When the forecast for a recent Thursday night was 48 degrees, …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Reaping the harvest as quickly as possible

Posted

These days, I feel as if I’m living on borrowed time. I pulled carrots and onions and am using the Swiss chard as quickly as I can. When the forecast for a recent Thursday night was 48 degrees, my reaction was aagghhh!
There’s only so much time to enjoy the fresh corn, basil, heirloom tomatoes, plums, peaches, nectarines and sweet berries.
The pumpkins, apples and squash have invaded the markets and farmer’s markets, along with mums. Not that they aren’t great. But, it means the seasons are changing and, with that comes a farewell to some of the sweetest things.
Swiss chard has been used so much this summer, I’ve steamed it and tossed it with vinegar and sesame seeds, made a frittata with onions, gruyere and fresh basil, and enjoyed the savory tart below.
Enjoy it while it’s still here.


Savoury Swiss Chard Tart
from Laura Calder’sshow on The Cooking Channel
Serves 6 to 8
1 hour, 25 minutes total
1 tablespoon oil (I use olive)
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounces bacon, cut into lardons (I just dice it)
1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, ribs removed (10 to 12 big leaves)
3 eggs
1 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream and sour cream combined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces Gruyere, grated (use aged cheese, not the cheap stuff)
Handful raisins
Handful toasted pine nuts
1 deep tart shell, pre-baked in a 9-inch springform pan or a frozen deep dish pie plate lined with your favorite pie dough (not baked)
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Heat oil in a sauté pan and fry the shallots until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Remove to a plate.
Wipe out pan. In same pan, fry bacon on medium heat until fat has rendered and lardons are crispy. Remove to the plate with the shallots.
Divide the chard leaves from the ribs. Chop the ribs quite small and shred the leaves. First, fry the ribs in the bacon fat until tender. (You may want to cover the pan for a few minutes to speed up the process.) Add the chard leaves to the pan, cover and wilt, about 3 minutes.
Beat the eggs together with the creme fraiche and season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, toss the shallots, bacon, chard stems and leaves, cheese, raisins and pine nuts, to combine evenly. Taste and season. Fill tart shell with the vegetable mixture, and pour over the cream mixture.
Bake until the tart has set, 25 minutes (for deep dish pie plate). Remove from the oven and cool. Serve at room temperature with a green salad.
Visit Lynda Rego on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lynda.rego where she shares tips on cooking, books, gardening, genealogy and other topics. Click on Like and share ideas for upcoming stories.

cooking Swiss chard tart

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.