Author Notes
Taking the picture of this tart was as much fun as making it. Went to Discovery Park Lighthouse to take the photo and everyone who walked buy offered to purchase it!
My intention with this tart was to pack in as much chard as possible. The cauliflower adds to the texture.
The crust is one of my favorites. I combined an idea from Shirley O. Corriher’s book "Cookwise" to add Parmesan cheese, cayenne and a dash of nutmeg in the crust with Martha Stewart's recipe for Flaky Tart Dough. - SKK —SKK
Test Kitchen Notes
This savory pie is delicious! The recipe has several steps, so make it when you have some time but do make it because this pie is well worth the effort. The crust came together well -- the recipe didn't give a measurement for the amount of water, I ended up using about 1/4 cup -- and it cooked up nice and crispy. In fact this crust would be a nice base for other savory pies. For the filling, each component was simple to cook and easy to put together; the roasting and caramelizing just takes a bit of time. The cheese-egg mixture and cauliflower are creamy and then there’s the nice flavor of the chard finished off with the sweetness of the onions -- yum! I might even suggest adding more onions, they were that good! This is a great recipe for a fall or winter day. - cathy —cathy
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Ingredients
- Filling for Tart
-
2 pounds
cauliflower, cored and cut into small pieces to roast evenly
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1 bunch
chard, stems removed and cut into bite size pieces
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4 cups
onion, about 2 medium, thinly sliced
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2
garlic cloves, finely minced
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4 tablespoons
olive oil
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3 tablespoons
butter
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3
eggs, large
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8 ounces
mascarpone cheese
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1 cup
Gruyere cheese, grated
-
3/4 cup
Parmesan cheese, grated
-
1/8 teaspoon
cayenne pepper
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1/4 teaspoon
nutmeg, ground
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salt
-
pepper
- Flaky Tart Crust with Cheese for 10 inch Tart
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1.5 cups
unbleached AP white flour plus more for work surface
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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10 tablespoons
butter, cold cut into pieces
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1/3 cup
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
-
1/8 teaspoon
cayenne pepper
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1/4 teaspoon
nutmeg, ground
Directions
- Filling for Tart
-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In glass baking pan with sides, toss cauliflower with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. If necessary use 2 pans. Roast 15 minutes, turn cauliflower over, then turn oven to 375 and roast another 25 to 30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes, until cauliflower is softened and starting to turn light brown. Set califlower aside.
-
In a thick, wide-bottomed sauté pan melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add the onions. Salt to taste. (AntoniaJames added fresth thyme at this point and it sounds wonderful!) Cook the onions over medium low heat (sweating them) stirring about every 20 minutes until the onions are honey colored. Take out ¾ of the onions and set aside, leaving ¼ of the onions in the pan.
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If needed add additional olive oil to 1/4 onions left and sauté 2 minced garlic cloves over medium heat. Add chard, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne, salt and pepper to taste and toss. Put tight fitting lid on pan and cook until chard is soft. Squeeze extra liquid out of chard and set aside.
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Now we make the sauce. Whisk 3 eggs together in bowl,
add 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, dash of pepper. Stir together and set aside.
- Flaky Tart Crust with Cheese for 10 inch Tart
-
In food processor pulse flour and salt together. Then add 10 tablespoons of cut butter and pulse for about 10 seconds until mixture looks like corn meal. Add Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper and nutmeg and pulse several times until mixed.
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Put dough in medium bowl, add water and using a wooden spoon or spatula gradually gather the mixture into a ball adding water as needed. Make the ball into a disk and wrap in plastic and freeze the dough for 10 minutes or chill it in fridge for 30 minutes.
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Roll out dough on floured surface and when large enough and about 1/4 " thick place in pie or tart pan, crimp edges and put back in the freezer for 10 minutes.
-
Take dough out of freezer, line it with tin foil or parchment paper, weight the bottom with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove weights and foil or parchment paper. Turn oven to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until done. Take out of oven.
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Filling the Crust
1. caramelized onions on bottom
2. chard on top of onions
3. cauliflower on top, broken into bite size pieces
4. pour sauce over filling
5. cover the top with 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
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Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 - 45 minutes until tart is bubbling and brown. Transfer to rack and cool 15 minutes before serving.
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