Polenta Tart with Green Garlic and Spinach

I have to say that I don’t care for microwave ovens—although I have one. When I do use the “micro,” I make a point not to stand in front of it, and that’s about the extent of precaution. I use mine to defrost things every once in a while and I use it to make polenta. It is a no muss/no fuss method of cooking polenta and I can be prepping the other parts of the meal while the polenta is nuking away. So I am going to give you my microwave polenta technique, and unless you are more adverse to the machines than I, or your kitchen is not so modernly equipped, you also will enjoy ease of polenta prep.

This tart “crust” is polenta. Which makes it gluten-free and lower in calories than a butter tart crust, besides perfectly complementing the filling in an Italian sort of way. Prepare the crust in a 9-inch tart pan with removable ring, or a 9-inch springform pan.

trimmed green garlic

I am not sure if John planted some garlic specifically for a green garlic harvest or if he is thinning the crop to allow more space for bulb development of what’s left in the rows, but this week we are enjoying green garlic in our Ranui Gardens CSA box. Green garlic looks a lot like green onions or scallions and can be prepared in pretty much the same way. You will want to trim green garlic as dictated by its relative youth, or how close it was to becoming fully formed garlic; if the green part is very tender, you can chop the entire stalk, otherwise trim away some of the green as you might for scallions. Wash green garlic well, as you would leeks, for dirty soil can hide in the stalks. There is no need to worry about tearing away the papery skin around the bulbs because it’s not there, so merrily mince it all.

Polenta Crust in 9-inch tart pan with removable ring

Polenta Tart with Green Garlic and Spinach

For the polenta:

3/4 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup water

½ cup polenta grits

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/8 teaspoon Real Salt

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

For the filling:

1 bunch fresh spinach, about 8 ounces, well washed, stems removed and coarsely chopped

1/2 to 1 cup chopped green garlic

1 tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil

Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 egg

8 ounces ricotta cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

3 tablespoons chopped chives

2 tablespoons fresh chive petals

Tomato sauce, optional

Whisk the vegetable broth, water, olive oil salt and polenta and in a microwave-proof bowl. Cover and cook on highest power for five minutes. Stir well, cover again and cook for another five minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, cover and cook for two more minutes.

9-inch springform pan

Allow the polenta to cool a minute or so, then dollop into the lightly oiled pan of choice. While the polenta is still soft and warm, spread it around the bottom and sides of the pan with your fingers, wetting them if needed. Distribute the polenta as evenly as possible, but it can look rustic, since this is a rustic tart.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet and sauté the green garlic until it is limp. Stir in the spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has completely wilted. Sprinkle with a dash of balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat the egg and ricotta cheese in a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the cooked garlic and spinach, thyme and chives, reserving the purple thyme blossom for garnish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into the polenta crust.

Chive and their blossoms

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until there are hints of golden brown in the crust and the ricotta filling. Sprinkle with the purple chive flowers and allow to cool slightly before cutting.

Serve on plates with tomato sauce, if desired.

Serves 10 to 16. If it is a main course, you will cut wide wedges, if it is an appetizer, smaller.

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Tarte aux Blettes–Sweet Swiss Chard Tart with a Cookie Crust

Tarte Aux Blettes, with roasted pear and ruby chard Moscato sauce and creme fraiche sherbet

Tarte aux Blettes, that’s the menu title, since I think most people would see Swiss chard tart on a dessert menu and pass it over for the Chocolate Snowball. I remember ordering this tart in Nice, France way back in 1986, for professional curiosity of course. After that, also a long time ago, I tried making it, likely from a recipe in the old Time-Life Food of the World series; it must have been the Cooking of Provincial France book. I didn’t like how that recipe came out—tough crust and odd mix of flavors, and the chard was probably old and bitter. Nevertheless, anytime I see another version of this Swiss chard tart, I am tempted to try again. A quick Google search shows that there are plenty of recipes out there, including translations from Boulud and Payard.

David Lebovitz, my favorite blogger, posted his rendition last year, writing about his almost fruitless search for more chard in Paris, after he’d decided he needed more to complete the recipe. Two pounds of chard for each tart is a lot, much more than one bunch, making this tart most appropriate when gardens are overflowing with chard. So, when I was asked to prepare dessert for Utah’s Slow Food gala dinner, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to perfect my own interpretation; my audience would be captive, meaning they wouldn’t choose that rich warm chocolate cake from the menu instead, because there would be no choice. And the date was mid-September, when gardens in our high altitudes are peaking; I was able to beg 22 pounds of sweet fresh-picked chard,  young and tender Blonde de Lyon chard from John at Ranui Gardens and rainbow chard with colorful stems from Daisy at Copper Moose Farm—two of our Wasatch back CSA farmers. I took David’s recipe and made it mine, with a sweet sugar cookie crust, no Parmesan cheese and fresh pears instead of apples. I served it with candied red chard stems and Moscato-poached Utah pears, both roasted to intensify their flavors, and crème fraîche sherbet.

Tarte aux Blettes

For the sugar cookie crust:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

For the filling:

¼ cup poire william sweet pear liqueur

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 pounds Swiss chard well washed, stems and veins removed, red and yellow stems reserved (you will end up with about 1 ½ pounds of leaves after stripping away the veins and stems)

Pinch salt

¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup organic cane sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon tapioca flour or starch

Confectioners’ sugar

Make the crust:

Stir the flour and the sugar together in a medium bowl. Dice the butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk and the cream. Sprinkle over the dough, stirring with a fork. Mix with your hands until the dough comes together, and divide in two portions, one a tiny bit larger than the other. Gently form each portion into a flattened 4-inch ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Make the filling:

Put the raisins and pear liqueur in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside until the raisins are plump with the liqueur.

chard leaves, cooked, with all the water squeezed out, enough for 9 tarts

Put the chard leaves in a saucepan or skillet with about ¼ cup of water and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook the leaves until they are completely wilted and have shrunk incredibly. Drain the leaves and immediately run them under cold water to help keep the bright green color. When they are cool, squeeze as much water as you are able from the leaves.

Chop the cooked chard and put into a bowl. Drain any liqueur from the raisins and add them to the chard. Sip the pear brandy while you continue making the tart.

Chop the pine nuts coarsely and add them to the chard, along with the cinnamon, sugar and eggs. Mix well; set aside while you roll the crust.

Roll the crust and assemble and bake the tart:

The dough it must be worked by hand first or it will be too crumbly: Cut each portion of the cold dough into 1/2 cup portions and smear the pieces quickly with the palm of your hand–the motion is similar to kneading but more gentle.

Brush melted butter on the sides and bottom of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, or spray with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger portion of dough into a 12-inch circle, 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. Use short coaxing strokes of the rolling pin and lift and turn the circle frequently, as often as every other roll of the pin. Use as little flour as possible, but dust the work surface and the rolling pin as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer to the prepared pan by rolling the dough up onto the rolling pin and laying it over the pan. Ease the dough into the corners of the pan. Patch any tears by pressing the dough together with your fingers. Trim the edges, leaving one inch of the dough standing up above the sides of the pan.

Roll the remaining dough for the top crust. Make it a circle, 1/8-inch thick, a little wider than the pan. Set aside.

Spread the chard filling into the tart shell. Toss the pear slices with the tapioca flour. Arrange them evenly over the filling.

Fold the extended inch of pastry over the filling and pears. Brush this edge with water so the top crust will seal to it. Lay the top crust on top of the filling. Use your fingers to pinch off the excess dough and seal it the top to the bottom.

Cut 6 slits in the crust to allow steam to escape. Place on a large baking sheet and bake 40 to 60 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown. Some of the filling may leak; this is typical. Cool at least one hour.

Remove the fluted pan rim and bottom; you may need to slip a flat knife between the pastry and the pan bottom to release it. Center a 7-inch plate or a cardboard circle on top of the tart as a stencil and sift confectioners’ sugar over the exposed border. Serve at room temperature.

 

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Vegetarian for the Holidays Cooking Class

On  November 18, 2009, I will be teaching a cooking class. At a cute, well-stocked kitchen store cum cooking school in Logan–Love to Cook at Kitchen Kneads. It would be fun to see some Park City/Summit County friends in the group. Sign up and carpool? In the morning that day, I”ll be making cheese at Rockhill Creamery just north of Logan, after a bread and Caffe Ibis coffee stop at Crumb Brothers Bakery….    Here’s the class menu to tempt you all.

Red Lentil and Pecan Pâté

Potato and Onion Gratin

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Baked Acorn Squash Stuffed with Brown Rice and Hazelnut Pilaf

Vegan Maple Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

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Pretend Apple Pie

I received this recipe in an email from a baker who once worked at Deer Valley. The note says that this is a really great pie that tastes just like apple pie but you use zucchini instead and no one can tell it’s not apple!! I couldn’t resist posting it. Though there was no zucchini in our box this week I am sure it won’t be hard to find.

5-6 cups zucchini, peeled, seeded, and sliced

2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix  zucchini and remaining ingredients together and put into an unbaked pie shell.

Top with a second crust or a streusel crumb topping.

Bake 45 to 60 minutes or just like you would an apple pie.

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