Tarte aux Pommes

That would be French Apple Tart!  And it is my mom's recipe and the first tart I've ever made.  It is simple and simply delicious.  She still makes it quite often and it is one that I enjoying sharing once in a while.  The picture is of the last one I baked in a rectangular shape in a large and old jelly roll pan.  I arranged the apple slices in the diagonal, like my mom taught me but you can also make rows of apple slices instead.  I always have to line the pan with parchment paper because my pan is very old.  Probably the first one I bought when I moved to the states 22 years ago but it still makes the best pie crust because it is dark and thin.  It attracts the heat better than a regular metal or glass pan and therefore makes the crust brown and flaky.  The recipe calls for an 11-inch tart pan.  To make it in a large jelly roll or baking sheet like on the picture just double the recipe.  You'll even have a little extra dough and apples to make a small free-form tart that you can just enjoy on your own...

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

4 to 5 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup apricot jam

            In the bowl of a food processor, place the flour, butter, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt.  Pulse until the mixture forms pea-size pieces.  With the machine running, add the water.  Transfer the mixture to a tea towel and press into a disk.

            Lightly flour the towel and roll the dough into an 11-inch circle.  Transfer and press into a 10-inch tart pan.  Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and refrigerate.

            (May be made the day before.)

            Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  Arrange the apple slices into 2 or 3 concentric circles, slightly overlapping each other.  Sprinkle with the 1 ½ tablespoons sugar and vanilla extract and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

            Warm the apricot jam in the microwave and brush onto the hot tart coming out of the oven.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

 Serves 6

Swiss Chard, Apple and Almond Tart

This all started when I was a kid in St-Martin-de-Vesubie, a small village in the French Alps.  My mom and I spent every August there hiking, relaxing by the pond and spending time with friends that I only saw once a year.  I loved that place when I was growing up.  My mom would let me have Nutella whenever I wanted and she was delighted I liked the local Swiss chard tart.  It was one of those rare occasions when she didn't have to push green vegetables on me.  A similar dish she liked to prepare for me was the zucchini tart which originated from there as well but that's another blog...

So when I started to grow Swiss chard in my own backyard some 30 years later, it was time to try to replicate the infamous Swiss chard tart...  After several tries, I came up with this recipe.  I think the combination of the apple and almond with the chard brings me back to St-Martin...

The recipe is for a 9-inch tart pan but like you can tell from the pictures, I've made it into a rectangular pan and also several smaller tart pans.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope that one day, it will bring you to this charming little village in the South of France... They also make a terrific blueberry tart, black nougat and rustic bread.

Swiss Chard, Apple and Almond Tart
Serves 6

1 cup flour

6 ½ tablespoons cold unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons cold water

¾ pound red Swiss chard, stems removed

¼ cup currants or raisins

2 tablespoons brandy or dark rum

1 Golden Delicious or Gala apple, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces

1 tablespoon honey

6 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup ground almonds

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 egg

Powdered sugar

            In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, butter and salt.  Pulse until the butter resembles pea-size pieces.  With the machine running, add the water.  Transfer the mixture to a tea towel and press the dough together with the tea towel.  Lightly flour the tea towel and roll the dough to a 10- to 11-inch circle.  Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Press the dough into the pan to form a crust.  Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and refrigerate until needed.

            Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Boil the red chard leaves for 2 minutes.  Drain well and squeeze dry.  Chop the red chard and place into a medium bowl. 

Place the currants in a 1-cup Pyrex measurer.  Add the brandy and microwave for 1 minute.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a 2-cup Pyrex measurer, place the apple with the honey.  Place in the microwave and

cook for 3 minutes.

Place the currants, apples and the remaining ingredients in the bowl with the chard.  Mix well and transfer to the pie crust.

Bake at 375ºF. for 45 minutes.  Cool to room temperature and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.