Savory Swiss chard pie

I realized this morning that I never did post the recipe for that Swiss chard tourte or pie that Walt made a few days back. Here it is. I thought it was really excellent, and we got at least three meals out of it. As the recipe says, it was almost better left over than it was the first time we ate it. And it's good served warm or cold.

Savory Swiss Chard Pie

2 sheets pie crust dough (pâte brisée)

2 bunches Swiss chard leaves (12 to 15 big leaves)

¾ cup chopped cooked chicken or ham (optional)

2 onions

½ cup cooked rice

2 eggs (for the filling)

2 oz. grated parmesan cheese

2 oz. grated Swiss cheese

½ cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 pinch nutmeg

1 egg yolk (for the egg wash)

Wash and trim the Swiss chard leaves, cutting out the thick white ribs. Rinse the greens well to remove any sand. Blanch or steam them for five minutes so that they are partially cooked. Drain them and press out as much water as possible (squeeze them in a clean dish towel).

Chop the blanched chard. Dice the onions. Put the chard and onion in a large bowl and mix in the cooked rice, meat (if using), grated cheeses, eggs, and the olive oil. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Line a baking dish or pie pan with one of the sheets of pie dough. Fill it with the chard mixture. Cover the filling with the second sheet of pie dough, and seal the edges all around.

Make an egg wash by beating an egg yolk with a teaspoon of cold water and brush it onto the top crust.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350ºF.

Make two or three holes in the top crust of the pie to let steam escape during the cooking. Put the pie in the oven for 40 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown.

The Swiss chard pie is good served warm or cold.

We ate the last piece of Swiss chard pie with a couple of 
stuffed tomatoes (shown frozen here).

You could also make this pie using fresh spinach leaves, or even frozen spinach (make sure to squeeze the water out after you thaw and or cook it). Here is the French recipe we adapted:

Tourte salée aux blettes

2 pâtes brisées
2 bottes de blettes
2 oignons
1 botte de persil
1 grosse poignée de riz cru
2 oeufs entiers
1 jaune d'oeuf
70 g de parmesan râpé
50 g de gruyère râpé
½ verre d'huile d'olive
sel, poivre

Préchauffer le four à 180°C.

Faire cuire le riz comme indiqué sur le paquet.

Éplucher les blettes. Rincer longuement le vert des blettes. Egoutter. Hacher grossièrement au couteau (utiliser les côtes dans une recette de gratin à la béchamel par exemple) ainsi que le persil. Hacher les oignons en dés. Dans un saladier, mettre tous ces ingrédients. Y ajouter le riz égoutté, les oeufs entiers, le sel, le poivre, les fromages ainsi que l'huile d'olive. Mélanger afin que tous les ingrédients soient uniformément répartis.

Etaler une des deux pâtes dans un moule à tarte. Piquer à la fourchette.

Verser le contenu du saladier. Recouvrir de l'autre pâte. Bien souder la pâte tout autour.

Piquer de quelques trous et badigeonner de jaune d'oeuf au pinceau.

Enfourner pour 40 mn.

Très bon tiède mais encore meilleur froid le lendemain.