Tart recipe highlights seasonal Swiss chard

Swiss chard is in season. You can stop at any of the roadside vegetable stands and find the freshest chards.

Chard is one of the healthiest vegetables and is quite popular in the Mediterranean diet. Its bitter taste lessens when cooked and turns into a more aromatic flavor. Chard combines well with dried fruit and nuts.

At Café Collage, we will be serving Swiss chard with risotto and several other dishes for the next few weeks.

SWISS CHARD-ONION TART

For crust:

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons organic raw sugar

10 ounces unsalted butter (refrigerated, cut into squares)

2 egg yolks

1 cup cold water (more if needed)

For custard:

8 farm-fresh eggs, beaten well

3 cups milk

3 cups heavy cream

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For filling:

1⁄2 cup olive oil

2 medium-size red onions, peeled and thinly sliced

5 bunches Swiss chard, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

1 cup golden raisins, soaked for 30 minutes in cold water

1 pound goat cheese, cut into 121⁄2-inch rounds (sold in rolls in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets)

Cook's notes: For the base of the tart, you may prepare the crust from scratch by following this recipe, or you may use prepared puff pastry, which is available in frozen sheets at any supermarket.

Preparation

Prepare crust: In a food processor, mix the flour, salt and sugar. Pulse to blend. Add the butter gradually and pulse. Add the egg yolk and gradually add the water just until the dough comes together.

Remove the dough from the processor and knead until it is firm and moist. Add a bit of flour if too moist.

Roll the dough into a 13- by 18-inch baking pan. Trim away excess pastry around the edge of the pan leaving 1⁄2 inch of pastry to overlap the edge. Place the pastry in a freezer for 30 minutes.

Prepare custard: In a large pitcher, combine the beaten eggs with the milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and whisk well together.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare filling: In a large pan, heat the oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Add a bit of water. Add the Swiss chard gradually and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the raisins and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Let it cool for five minutes.

Retrieve the baking pan with the pastry from the freezer. Spread the chard mixture evenly over the dough. Place the goat cheese rounds on top of the mixture, leaving a space in between to determine each portion.

Place the baking pan on a rack in the oven with one side of the baking pan outside the oven. Slowly pour the custard mixture over the chard mixture, then rotate the pan and finish pouring in the custard mixture. Do not let the pan overflow. Stop pouring when the custard is evenly distributed.

Bake for an hour, or until the dough crust is golden brown.

Let the tart cool for 15 minutes, cut it into portions and serve warm with a salad, roasted potatoes or just on its own.

Salim Ben Mami is head chef and owner of Café Collage restaurant in Oregon House, Calif. Contact him at 530-692-2555 or ccollage@succeed.net. His website is cafecollage.net.