Silverbeet, silverbeet, silverbeet …  Rainbow chard, rainbow chard, rainbow chard …

It is raining silverbeet and rainbow chard in this household.  I have so much of it and I only planted one little itsy, bitsy container of it.

Off to eatyourbooks I went and searched, silverbeet.  Up popped a multitude of recipes, including this one from The Country Cookbook by Belinda Jeffery.  As I may have mentioned 10 times before, I am a bit of a Belinda Jeffery fan and, in particular, I love her savoury tarts.  I have made virtually all of the savoury tarts from her first 3 books so, when this one popped up from her fourth book, I was very keen to try it.

As I would have predicted, it was a winner.  It was so good, I am making it again for my friends Emily, Colin and Colette for lunch on Sunday.

BTW, if you didn’t get Belinda’s first 2 books, she has a new book out called Collected Recipes which combines all the recipes from them.  She also has a new book out called Desserts.  Mmmmmm, I don’t have that one.  Maybe Father Christmas will give it to me.

Shortcrust Pastry Tart Shell

• 225g plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 125g cold unsalted butter
• iced water
• 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tsp of water for glazing

1. Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times.
2. Add the chopped butter and process until just combined.
3. While the processor is still running, drizzle in, very slowly, iced water.  Stop when the dough begins to clump together.  Do not let it form a ball.
4. Tip the dough onto your work bench and knead to form a ball (if you can’t, add a drop or two more water).
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for, at least, 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
7. Take the pastry out of the fridge.  If it is a little stiff wait, until it softens a bit.
8. Roll out pastry so it is large enough to fit a 26-28 cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
9. Line tin with the rolled pastry, gently easing it into the corners of the base.  Leave a small amount of overhang and trim off the rest.
10. With a fork, pierce the base a few times.
11. Line the pastry with Alfoil or baking paper and then cover with pie weights.
12. Bake for 10 minutes in 180°C oven.
13. Remove Alfoil and weights.  Check the base, if there are any cracks, fill them with a bit of left over pastry.
14. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.
15. Brush glaze over base and sides of shell and return it to the oven for a few minutes to dry the glaze. The glaze seals the shell and prevents the base becoming soggy.

You can, off course, make your pastry by hand.  You can make your pastry case up to a couple of days before.

Filling

• 30g butter
• 5 spring onions, finely sliced
• 500g rainbow chard or silverbeet (stalks and all) washed well and finely sliced
• 4 eggs
• 1¼ cup of milk
• ½ cup cream
• salt and coarsely ground pepper
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 60g mozzarella, grated
• 200g cheddar cheese, grated
• flaked almonds

1. Melt the butter in a large pan (I used my wok), add the spring onions and cook until softened (4-5 minutes).
2. Add the rainbow chard or silverbeet, cover pan and cook until silverbeet is collapsed and wilted, but still nice and green.
3. Take off the heat and put in a strainer over a bowl, set aside to drain and cool.
   You can do up to this stage the day before, if you like.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C.
5. Put pastry case on baking tray. (It is so much easier to put the tart in the oven if it is on a baking tray.)
6. Whisk eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper together.
7. Combine grated cheeses in a separate bowl.
8. When silverbeet is cool, push down silverbeet in strainer to get the last of the fluid out.
9. Mix half of the combined cheese with the silverbeet.
10. Spread evenly over pastry base, top with the balance of the cheese.
11. Scatter flaked almonds over silverbeet mixture.
12. Pour egg mixture over filling. (You may not need all of it.)
13. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.