About the Recipe
This is Lauren's recipe that Janel made in the recipe showdown in episode 1 of the podcast Two Many Cooks in the Kitchen.
It has a flakey crust, and is delicious as a simple vegetarian meal. Serve with side salad. You could even have this one for breakfast.
Ingredients
Pie crust
8 TBSP unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
ice water, as needed
Filling
2 bunches Swiss chard, cut into strips
1 TBSP ghee or olive oil
2 shallots, julienned
3 cloves garlic
3 whole eggs
1 1/2 cups cream
1/8 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground is preferred
1/8 tsp white pepper
salt, to taste
Preparation
Cut butter into tablespoon pieces and place into the freezer for 30 or more minutes.
In the meantime, add the flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Once butter is frozen, add to the flour mixture. Pulse until butter is in pea-sized pieces.
Quickly beat the two egg yolks and pour over the flour-butter mixture. Pulse to incorporate. Begin pulsing while also adding the water until the mixture starts to come together into a crumbly dough. Pulse a few more times until it comes together into a ball.
Turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Form into a disc and wrap in the parchment paper. Place into the fridge to chill.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Once cold, roll out to ¼-inch thick disc. Place into a greased pie plate and crimp edges. Poke holes with a fork in the crust to vent.
Place parchment into the pie crust and fill with pie weights or beans.
Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the crust is set. If the edges are browning too quickly tent with tinfoil. Remove from oven and allow to cool while preparing the filling.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325.
In a large saute pan, wilt the Swiss chard with the ghee over medium heat. Once wilted transfer to a sieve to drain some of the excess liquid. No need to squeeze, just allow to hang while sweating the shallot and garlic.
Transfer the swiss chard to the cooled pie crust. Top with the shallots and garlic, followed by the cheese.
In a bowl, whisk together the cream and eggs with the white pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Pour over the top of the pie crust. Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until filling has set.
Once set, remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.