Ingredients
- greased non-stick springform pan
- inner base diameter 22 cm,
- top 23 cm, rim 7 cm
Dough:
- 100 ml water
- 50 g butter
- 300 g all-purpose wheat flour
- 3 g salt
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
Filling:
- 425 g Swiss chard leaves* (or endive)
- 75 g spinach
- 4 tbsp parsley
- 2 tbsp chervil
- 1 tbsp fennel greens
- 6 eggs (L)
- 125 g fresh cheese
- 100 g Munster cheese
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
- salt
- 75 g grated aged cheese
This tourte you can find in Le Mesnagier de Paris (The Housefather of Paris, Livre de Poche, 2010), dating from around 1393. A wonderful book, written by an elderly gentleman for his 16-year-old wife, who, because she was an orphan, had never learned how to run a household. He tells her that eating when you are not hungry or have not prayed is just as sinful as gluttony. In passing, he puts an end to the myth that people in the Middle Ages disliked vegetables. In fact, he gives instructions for a large number of plants in his kitchen garden and turns out to have even grown violets for a special omelet.
Savory tarts were popular in that distant past. Table forks were not yet known, and such a pie could easily be eaten with three fingers. People in France still bake tarts with Swiss chard and cheese. True culinary art does not simply abandon a good idea.
- Melt the butter in the water under a lid. Stir warm into flour and salt. Knead into a smooth dough with egg and yolk; roll out on a floured work surface into a circle of 33 cm. Line the tin and the rim. with the dough. Press the top edge down slightly. Let rest covered at room temperature.
- Remove thick veins and stems from all the greens *. Wash. Dry in a salad spinner. Chop very finely.
- Preheat oven to 220˚C.
- Beat the eggs. Mix with the loosened fresh cheese, finely chopped Munster cheese without rind, ginger, the greens, and salt.
- Fill the pastry shell. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese.
- Bake: bottom rack; 10 minutes at 220˚C then 30 minutes at 200˚C, let stand in the tin for 5 minutes.
*Do not discard the veins and stems from the greens: cut into 4 cm pieces; next day, boil for 10 minutes with 1 red onion in rings, chopped parsley, and garlic. Drain. Toss with some olive oil.