For the love of puff pastry {Alsatian Leek & Swiss Chard Tart}

It is official. I am having a love affair with puff pastry. In all my years of fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cooking, I never realized how spectacular this stuff is. I listed it as a freezer staple in my TGK Essentials series, here. And, I recently used it during the Artichoke Extravaganza, here. It is so easy to use and the results are phenomenal. Could you make your own? Yes, yes, you could, but the economy of effort factor weighs heavy with this one since home made puff pastry takes a whole lot of butter and a whole lot of kneading, rolling and folding. Last night, I didn't have time for that - (but, I promise, I will try making it from scratch sometime and you can bet that I'll fill you in on the details when I do.)

So, last week, when I realized that I wouldn't be giving away all of the excess Swiss Chard that was in my fridge (Seriously, people, where's the love for the Chard?!) I had to figure out how to incorporate it into a dinner. We've been sauteing it (similar to a quick saute of spinach) and we really do like it that way. But, just like with anything else, you do get a little bored of the same thing over and over. After searching the fridge again and finding some leeks in there are well (All from Johnson's Backyard CSA) and realizing that I had some egg yolks left from the Mother's Day making of the Chiles Rellenos, I had some key ingredients with which to plan.

After a quick search of my ridiculously large "binder of recipes to try" (my analog Pinterest, if you will) I found something that fit the bill and also tapped into my Alsatian heritage. My Great Grandfather, Johan (John) Mueller, was from Alsace-Lorraine. While much of his early story and history is lost to us, he was born in Wangenbourg in Alsace in 1871. In this very year, Alsace & Lorraine were annexed by the German Empire.  He may very well have been ethnically French,(My Great Uncle Herby who was somewhat of the family historian always said that  "Papa always wanted to be French, but he wasn't, he was German.") however, when he left Europe for the US, he was a native German speaker and a German citizen.  He is also one of the people responsible for my cooking gene. He was a professional cook in some of the finest hotels in San Antonio, Texas and owned cafe(s) along the San Antonio River long before it was developed into the Riverwalk of today. 

Savory tarts and quiches are a hallmark in traditional Alsatian cooking. This seemed to be a  perfect fit.

Alsatian Savory Swiss Chard and Leek Tart

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of the 17.3 oz package), thawed
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2-3 large leeks ( white and pale green parts only) coarsely chopped and washed well.
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard, ribs removed & cut up, leaves chopped (about 2.5 cups)
• 1 1/4 C whipping cream
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 Tsp salt
• 1/4 Tsp ground black pepper
• pinch of ground nutmeg

1. Roll out puff pastry sheet on a floured surface to about a 12 in square. Transfer to a 9in glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 in. Fold under and crimp edges. Cover and chill while you prepare filling
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add leeks and cook until leeks are tender but not browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add chard and saute until leaves are wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Place oven rack in the bottom third of oven and preheat to 425 F. In a large bowl, whisk together cream, eggs, egg yolks, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix in leek & chard mixture. Pour filling into crust.
4. Bake tart for 15 minutes. Then, reduce heat to 350F and bake until filling is puffed and just set in the center (about 10-15 minutes more) Transfer to a rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Slice into pie wedges and serve!

Notes:

•  I recommend trying the leek and chard combo, however, if that's just outside of your comfort zone, sauteed onions and spinach would be a fine substitution.
• When using chard, look for white ribs for this dish. The Rainbow variety (which has red, orange or yellow ribs) will tint the filling. If rainbow is all you can find, you can just remove the ribs (or stalks) and reserve them for another use or discard.

This was a delicious, light, but filling dinner. The cream and eggs were creamy and luscious and the leeks and chard added a hint of Spring. Encased in the crispy, flaky puff pastry - it was a fabulous combination. I'm off to figure out how else to use this wonder pastry.

Happy Cooking!
 sld

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