Kohlrabi Green Tart with Polenta Crust

A recent Good Food Easy CSA installment came with a hefty stack of kohlrabi leaves, an ingredient uncommon enough to render the internet at rather a loss for recipe recommendations. I decided to treat them like greens, but respect their cabbage-ness by pairing them with sweet cooked onions (like this favorite cabbage dish), and to nestle the whole mixture into a tart.

And because we have plenty of polenta from our Lonesome Whistle Farm CSA, I decided to make a polenta crust from this recipe from Maria Speck's Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. The tart crust is basically cooked polenta, with some grated parmesan cheese and an egg for extra integrity. The recipe calls for cooking the polenta in broth, so I made a quick broth with some leek greens and the kohlrabi leaf stems, but I think water would be fine as well. 

I made a couple of mini tarts for the kohlrabi leaf doubters in the house, one of whom opted for a parsley pesto topping while the other went with a take on the classic tomato and cheese pizza. For the rest of us, the kohlrabi green tart was a big hit, and I'm certain I will be making variants with other greens throughout the spring.

Kohlrabi Green Tart with Polenta Crust

Make one 10-inch tart

Crust from Maria Speck's Artichoke Tart with Polenta Crust
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups polenta
1/2 cup (about 2.5 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese 
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Slowly add the polenta in a thin stream, whisking constantly, and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon every few minutes to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in the cheese, egg and pepper.

2. Grease a 10-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil. Have a glass of cold water ready. Spoon the polenta into the pan and press it out, pushing it up the sides. Dip a wooden spoon or your hands in the cold water to help the polenta along. Set aside for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375 F. Then form an even rim about 3/4 of an inch thick with moist fingers, pressing firmly. Don't worry if the crust looks rustic.

3. Prebake the crust for 20 minutes until it has started to brown on the edges. Meanwhile, prepare the filling

Kohlrabi green filling
6-8 kohlrabi leaves (or substitute collard greens or chard)
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup ricotta (or use Greek yogurt like Maria Speck's original recipe)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
salt to taste and plenty of freshly ground pepper

1. Cut the center rib from each kohlrabi leaf and cut the leaves into 1 inch ribbons. Peel and dice the onion. Heat a large skillet over medium low heat, then heat the oil and sauté the onions with a pinch of salt, until they are very soft and glassy, about 10 minutes. Add the kohlrabi greens and sauté with another pinch of salt for about 5 minutes until they have turned a darker green and started to soften. Remove from heat.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, a good pinch of salt and pepper until well-combined. Fold in the sautéed greens. Pour the filling into the prepared polenta tart and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the swiss cheese.

2. Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes. The tart can be prepared up to one day ahead.

Swiss Chard and Bacon Tart

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market (from 10 to 2:30 on the corner of Agate and 19th) you can expect to find the following produce and prepared foods from SLO Farm and Sweetwater Farm:

• raspberries and marionberries
• snap peas (add crunch to a rice noodle salad)
• many varieties of greens, including bietola (try this saag paneer salad)
• cabbage (yummy slow cooked)
• carrots (use in carrot salad with a bite)
• fingerling potatoes (use in potato salad with a bite)
• turnips (try these with browned butter)
• onions and garlic
• tomato sauce and pesto (make pizza)
• pickles and sauerkraut
• kimchi (make a stir fry)
• homemade jams
• redcap raspberry apple sauce (serve with teff pancakes)

The fresh greens on sale at the market make wonderful tart fillings. A big bunch of Swiss chard can seem like a big commitment, but it will cook down to just the right amount of filling for one tart. I used a recipe from Heidi Swanson for rye flour pie crust, using my rye flour from Lonesome Whistle Farm. I included bacon and gruyere cheese for a take on the classic quiche lorraine, with the dark green chard leaves to offset the richness of the other ingredients. Lovely for a summer brunch. Happy Bastille Day!

Swiss Chard and Bacon Tart

tart crust (makes enough for two 9 inch tarts)

2/3 cup rye flour

1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose white flour

1/4 tsp salt

8 Tbsp butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2 inch cubes

~1/3 cup ice water

I followed Melissa Clark's instructions for making the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and mix. Now pulse in the butter cubes until they are lima bean sized. Then add enough water for the dough to just come together when you press it between your fingers. Mold into two discs, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out into 12 inch discs, drape into buttered tart pans, flute the edges and patch where you need to, and now chill again for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover the crusts with aluminum foil and use coins as pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes, then allow to cook completely before you fill the crusts. One disk of dough can be frozen for later. 

filling for one tart

1 bunch Swiss chard

2 slices bacon

1 shallot or small onion

3 ounces gruyere cheese

3 eggs

~3/4 cup half and half

salt and pepper

1. Cut the stems from the chard leaves and dice. Chop the leaves. Dice the shallot or onion.

2. Heat a large skillet. Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and saute until the pieces have browned on both sides and rendered their fat. Reserve the bacon pieces. Use the rendered bacon fat to saute the diced chard stems and shallot or onion. Then add the chard leaves and saute until wilted.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grate the gruyere cheese and spread in the prebaked pice crust. Layer on the sauteed chard mixture. Top with the reserved bacon pieces. In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs and then add enough half and half to bring the volume to 1 1/2 cups. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the tart filling.

4. Bake the tart for about 45 minutes until the filling is entirely set and the top has started to brown. Let rest for at least ten minutes before serving.

Red and Blue Tart

The Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market will start this Sunday June 19th. Come down to the corner of Agate and 19th for fresh produce, local beans and grains, and some laid back Gypsy jazz from Manouche Noir (performing around 11 AM).  SLO Farm will be offering the following produce:
Strawberries!!!
Fresh Garlic
Parsley
Kale
Chard
Bok Choy
Broccoli Raab
Broccoli
Beets
Potatoes Lettuce Mix
Basil
Honey
Dried Cayenne Peppers
and flower starts

Think pesto, stir fries, salads, and curried greens. Here is a chard tart recipe I made as a variation on one from The Greens Cookbook. I like using swiss chard in tarts because it holds up well to the baking process. 

I sauteed the chard stems with onion for a lovely red color,

and paired this with a sharp blue cheese custard. For some fruit notes, I added some orange zest to the fresh chard leaves and some yellow raisins to the chard stems, and for some crunch, I topped the tart with toasted almonds,

and baked these in a yeast dough crust. The final tart made a satisfying meal, paired with a green salad.

Red Chard and Blue Cheese Tart

yeast tart:

• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon butter at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons cottage cheese

tart filling:

• 10 red Swiss chard leaves
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided use)
• zest from 1/4 orange
• 1 small red onion
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup yellow raisins
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• plenty of freshly ground pepper
• salt to taste

1. Prepare the tart dough. Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water and set aside until frothy. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the egg. Cut in the butter, and combine in the cottage cheese. Stir in the yeast mixture, and form into a ball. The dough should be soft and moist, but if it feels too sticky, dust it with a little more flour. Cover and allow to rise for about an hour.
2. Wash the chard leaves and trim off the ends of the stems. Cut the leaves off the stems. Chop the leaves finely into ~1/4 inch pieces. In a large bowl, toss the chopped chard leaves with 1 tablespoon olive oil, orange zest, salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Soak the raisins in hot water for at least 20 minutes and then drain and squeeze dry. Peel and dice the onion. Cut the chard stems lengthwise and then chop into 1/4 inch pieces. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the chard stems and continue cooking until the onions start to caramelize. Add the raisins and season with salt and pepper. Finally, add the red wine vinegar and cook a few more minutes until syrupy. Remove from heat and reserve.
4. Preheat the oven to 375. Butter a 10 inch tart pan. Unwrap the dough and with your fingers gently flatten into an approximately 10 inch disc, dusting with a little more flour if necessary. Transfer to the pie pan and use your fingers to spread up the sides of the pan.
5. Mix together 3 eggs and the cream. Crumble the gorgonzola. In a dry skillet, lightly toast the almond slivers.
6. Assemble the tart. First layer into the tart dough the fresh chard leaves. Then layer on the cooked onions and chard stems. Then spread over the crumbled gorgonzola, and pour over the custard so that it is evenly distributed. Finally sprinkle over the toasted slivered almonds.
7. Bake the tart at 375 for 45-55 minutes, until the dough is light brown and the custard is cooked through. Allow the tart to cool slightly before cutting it to serve.