Greens and Gruyere Tart

It’s been a heck of a busy weekend here.  It’s the first full weekend I’ve been at home since March!  So, yesterday I put in most of the garden.  Not quite warm enough yet for beans and cowpeas.  You’ll be hearing plenty about the garden in the coming months.  Yesterday was outside, so today had to be inside.  Many hours of cleaning. SO tired.  I might have punted and had wine with cheese and crackers for dinner, but I’ve been planning for this tart for a while.

I had odds and ends of greens from last week – chard, leeks, green onions.  And for some time now I’ve been in a quest to find a use for the green tops of leeks.  It just kills me that most recipes only call for the whites.  I’ve been throwing away 2/3 of the leeks for years.  I hate that!  No more.  Now I know I can saute and eat them like other greens.  Win!  I also had some leek whites leftover so that was my starting place.

Honestly, when you search recipe sites for leeks, this is about the first thing that comes up on most of them.  Let me warn you.  It takes a long time from the time you start to the time you eat, even with a store bought crust, so plan accordingly.  Fortunately it’s not difficult and since it sits for 30 minutes after it’s cooked, it’s perfect for having people over.

I’ll do a separate post about cleaning leeks.  And you do have to clean them.  They’re filthy.  I mean actual mud in between the layers.  So be diligent about the cleaning.  No one likes a gritty meal.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 pie crust – store bought or make your own
• Assortment of chopped greens – shard, leek tops – about 4 cups
• 1 leek and 2 green onions, whites and light greens only, chopped
• 3 T fat/oil (bacon grease, olive oil, butter – or a combination)
• 1 T flour
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 C half and half
• 1 C grated gruyere, divided
• 1/4 t grated nutmeg
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper

Here’s what you do:

For the crust:

• Preheat oven to 450
• Place crust in pie pan
• Prick crust with a fork
• Line the bottom with parchment
• Top with pie weights or dried beans
• Bake 10 minutes
• Remove weights and parchment
• Prick crust again, bake another 5-7 minutes, until crust is done

For the filling (while the crust bakes)

• Preheat oven to 375
• Grate gruyere, set aside
• In a large, heavy pan, heat 2 T fat
• Add leek tops and saute 7-8 minutes, until fairly soft
• Add chard (or other soft greens) and saute another 3 minutes
• Remove the greens from the pan and set aside to cool
• Add 1 T fat and heat to a shimmer
• Add leeks and green onions, saute 8-10 minutes

• Add 1 T flour, stir 1-2 minutes

• Remove from heat and set aside, mixing with greens
• In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs
• Add half and half, nutmeg, salt, and pepper
• Whisk together

• Stir in greens and leeks

• Layer 1/2 the gruyere on the bottom of the crust

• Pour in filling, spread evenly

• Top with remaining cheese

• Bake at 375 30-35 minutes until center is set

• Remove from the oven and let sit another 20-30 minutes before serving

Here’s how it turned out:

So good I ate two pieces!  Granted, this looks a lot more like brunch than a dinner after a weekend of killing yourself around the house and yard.  I’m shocked at how filling it is.  Only 2 eggs in the whole thing!  I threw together a little salad to have on the side.  A perfect brunch for guests to be sure, but I’ll be eating this for breakfast, lunch or dinner this week!

Try it with different greens or bacon or another hard, sharp cheese.  Serve it with grits or potatoes or fruit, in addition to a small salad.  Good warm and at room temperature.  Enjoy!