Three Cheese and Chard Tart

The chard harvest is the saviour of November, for more reasons than one. Of course it is delicious: its light, slightly earthy leafiness is a creamier, softer alternative to the fibrous brassica greens which are the only other leaves on offer. But more than that, chard brings garish flashes rainbow silliness to the winter garden. Amidst the fallen leaves and drab, dying remnants of the veg patch it stands out like a clown in council office.

So too in the kitchen. The stems (which look so much like sweets to me that I once tried to candy them – not recommended) take a little longer to cook than the leaves, so if you plan to wilt them in salted butter as a side dish (which you should), then finely chop the stems and sweat them in the melted butter first before adding the shredded the leaves a couple of minutes later.

Chard loves cheese. Wilt as above, add a slug of cream, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake till bubbling for a quick gratin. Or daub with knobs of blue cheese once wilted. Or, try this speedy tart which incorporates cheddar, feta and, just for good measure, some parmesan too. I use filo pastry for the base: so much quicker than the usual shortcrust-pastry-quiche-faff and some much needed crunch to accompany the pillowy eggy filling.

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Three Cheese and Chard Tart

Yield: 4-6Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 HourA hearty vegetarian centrepiece filled with chard, feta, cheddar and parmesan. Simpler than a shortcrust quiche, the filo base in this chard tart also brings welcome crunch to accompany the pillowy savoury custard filling.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing

• 700g chard, leaves and stems separated and finely shredded

• 2 eggs

• 2 egg yolks

• 100ml double cream

• 100g feta

• 50g cheddar, grated

• 55g parmesan, grated

• 5 sheets filo pastry

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

2. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan. Sweat the chard stems for 2 minutes in the oil then stir in the leaves and cook for 5 minutes until wilted.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and cream and season generously. Crumble in the feta. Add the cheddar, 30g of parmesan and the wilted chard then stir to combine.

4. Brush an oven-proof dish with some oil. I use a tart tatin dish, but a shallow, loose-bottomed cake tin is perfect if you want to serve your tart ‘freestanding’. Line the dish with a sheet of filo, leaving any extra overhanging. Brush with oil then place another sheet on top of the first at a 90 degree angle. Repeat with the remaining sheets, making sure the dish is completely sealed. Pour the tart filling into the filo base then sprinkle with the remaining parmesan over the top. Scrunch the overhanging pastry up around the sides of the tart and brush with more oil.

5. Bake for 30 minutes, turning half way. You can take it straight to the table if you are serving it in the baking dish, but give it 10 minutes to firm up before you release it if you’re going for the showier un-dished option. It’s just a lovely at room temperature too.

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