Swiss Chard Tart with Potato Crust

Had a wonderful weekend despite the hot and humid weather. We went for several runs in the local state park, spent a few hours at the beach, drank some margaritas, and made a couple of trips to various farmers' markets - all in all, an excellent weekend! As a result, I have several new recipes to share with you this week and am starting with this wonderful Swiss Chard Tart from one of my favorite cookbooks, believe I've mentioned it before, Stonewall Kitchen, Harvest. I was able to pick up a beautiful mix of red, pink, and golden yellow Swiss Chard and immediately thought of this recipe - it's quick, easy, beautiful, and it will not disappoint - guaranteed!

Swiss Chard Tart with Potato Crust

Makes 2 tarts; each serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. Swiss chard
1 lg clove garlic, very thinly sliced
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 lg high-starch potatoes, unpeeled & scrubbed clean
3 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 heaping C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 lg eggs
2 C ricotta cheese

Trim the stems from the chard, wash the leaves thoroughly, drain and dry. Coarsely chop the chard. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbps of the oil over medium heat. Add half the chard and half the garlic and cook, stirring frequently. As the chard cooks down, add the remaining chard and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring until chard is just tender. Tilt the skillet to the side and blot up any excess liquid with paper towel. Let cool.

To make the crust, slice the potatoes very thinly. It's fine if some of the slices are smaller than others - the important thing is to make them fairly uniform in thickness. Create a thin layer of the potato slices on the bottom of the two pie plates (preferably glass), slightly overlapping them to create a solid bottom "crust." Gently tuck potato slices along the edges to create a border up the sides of the pie plates. When you're done, you should have two solid pie "crusts." Use thin or oddly shaped potato slices to fill in any gaps. Discard the remaining slices. Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the oil over each crust, swirling the pan slightly so the oil spreads between the potato layers and drips to the bottom. Sprinkle each crust with 1/2 tsp of thyme, some salt, and pepper, and a heaping 1/4 C of Parmesan cheese.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and whisk in the ricotta, the remaining 2 tsp thyme, and the remaining 1/2 C Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooled sauteed chard and mix well. Divide the filling between the two pie crusts and press down lightly.

 

Bake the tart for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 10 minutes. The potato crust should turn brown and crisp, and the filling should feel solid and firm when gently touched with your fingers. Let cool about 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Scrumptious Pumpkin Pancakes

I still had some pumpkin puree in the freezer that was leftover from the holidays and was thinking it was about time to either use it or lose it. Since the gingerbread pancakes turned out so well last fall, I decided to try my hand at making pumpkin pancakes. As usual, I consulted a few recipes and then combined what I liked from each and left what I didn't. This resulted in thick, dense cakes with a subtle spice and pumpkin flavor that was enhanced by the maple syrup.

Note: Due to the density of the cakes I had to play with my stovetop settings (and sacrifice a few cakes in the process) to ensure that the insides were cooked through without burning the outsides. Using a cast iron skillet, I ended up keeping my burner at a setting of 3.

2 C all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk
1 C pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a separate larger bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Laddle the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Gingerbread Pancakes

If you ever find yourself in Austin, TX be sure to stop by Magnolia Cafe for breakfast. No matter what you order you won't be disappointed, but I highly recommend trying the gingerbread pancakes. I love them so much I went on a mad hunt to find the recipe, fortunately Food Network made that easy for me. I've made a few modifications since I like my gingerbread to have a little stronger taste. I accompanied the pancakes with apples, fresh from the farmer's market, that I sauteed in a little butter and cinnamon - yum!

Ingredients
3 eggs
1/4 C brown sugar
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C water
1/4 C brewed coffee
2 1/2 C white unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp ground nutmeg
4 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

In a large bowl, mix eggs and brown sugar until well combined. Add buttermilk, water and brewed coffee, and stir to combine. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in the melted butter.

Grease a griddle or heavy skillet. Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat and then add the batter, by ladle-fulls. Cook until little bubbles appear around the edges of the pancake, and then flip. Cook on the second side until golden brown and cooked through in the middle. Serve immediately.