Green Vegetable Tart al la Reggio Emilia
cucina di mammina
Photo by Carina A. Favale
- Serves
- 1 tart
This is a rustic, country-style tart filled with seasonal green vegetables that we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner -- and as a late-night snack. This recipe is my adapted version of a recipe by Mario Batali.
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 2 cup unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 tablespoon lard, chilled
- 3 tablespoon olive oil, chilled
- 12 to 14 tablespoon carbonated water, cold
- 1 large round pizza tray or pan
Filling
- 5 ounce pancetta, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium sweet yellow or red onions, chopped
- 2 to 2 1/2 pound swiss chard (white or red), blanched until barely wilted, squeezed of all excess water, and chopped
- 1 1/2 to 2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 whole eggs
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Handful of freshly-chopped parsley, if desired
Featured Video
This tart has the perfect combination of dough and filling. The saltiness of the pancetta wasn't too overwhelming and balanced out the flaky dough. I would definitely wait a day before eating it, as the flavors came out better after the tart had cooled. I had three people try this, including two guys from Reggio Emilia, and all really enjoyed it and went in for seconds. I would definitely make this again. It's no erbazzone, but it's a damn good green veggie tart.
Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
For the dough: Combine the two flours and salt in a food processor, then add the cold lard and olive oil. Start pulsing slowly until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Step 2
Add 7 or 8 tablespoons of the cold carbonated water, and continue to pulse. If the mixture looks too dry, continue adding the water by tablespoon until the mixture forms a ball of dough.
- Step 3
Gather the bits of dough into a ball, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes. When ready to assemble, halve the dough and roll into 2 rounds, each a bit larger than the pizza pan.
- Step 4
Fit one round on a heavily-oiled pizza tray and set aside. Note: You may roll the dough as thin or as thick as you like -- I prefer mine on the thinner side (about 1/4-inch or less) to keep the best balance of flavors.
- Step 5
Put the pancetta in a large skillet with a light drizzle of olive oil over medium-low heat. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the pancetta has rendered much of its fat and is crispy and golden.
- Step 6
Add the onion and garlic and sauté, covered, for 15 minutes, or until softened. Uncover, raise the heat to high, and cook another 6 minutes, or until the alliums turn a rich golden brown.
- Step 7
Add the chopped, blanched swiss chard and sauté 3 to 5 minutes or so, adjusting the heat to prevent from browning too much. If this mixture gets too dry, add a touch of water and deglaze the pan.
- Step 8
Once all the liquid has evaporated, remove the vegetable mixture from the heat and place in a large deep bowl to cool. Set aside.
- Step 9
In a medium bowl, add the eggs and grated cheese and mix well to blend. Once the vegetable and pancetta mixture is cooled, add it to the egg mixture and mix well to combine.
- Step 10
Preheat the oven to 400° F and set the baking rack as close to the bottom of the oven as possible.
- Step 11
Spread the vegetable and egg filling on the pastry-lined pizza tray, being sure to leave a 2-inch border for sealing with the top pastry round.
- Step 12
Dampen the edges of the bottom pastry round with water. Top with the remaining pastry round, then pinch the edges together.
- Step 13
Fold the edges over toward the center of the tart and crimp. Make slashes in the top of the pastry round to allow the steam to escape while baking.
- Step 14
Bake the tart for 20 minutes, then brush with more olive oil if desired.
- Step 15
Continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the tart turns a pale golden color. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Step 16
When cool, cut into narrow wedges and serve immediately. Tart reheats well.
- Step 17
Note: Feel free to change up the filling depending on the greens you have on hand. I make a version that uses sautéed broccoli rabe mixed with roasted and crumbled Italian sausage that is wonderful and hearty.