Dan Can Cook: Swiss chard quiche (or maybe a pie)

If you run into a massive pile of Swiss chard — from your garden or from a neighbor’s or, in my case, from my daughter Julia’s — here’s a delicious way to dispose of it: Make a quiche or pie.

• Wash, break in half and blanch a bunch of chard with the stems; after a few minutes, strain the chard, let it cool, then squeeze as much moisture out of it as possible. 
• Chop the greens and the stems, and mix them with some sauteed-til-soft leeks or shallots; add a few eggs, some finely shredded provolone and/or pecorino, and a dollop of ricotta. 
• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter up a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish and insert a pie crust. Add the chard/egg/cheese mixture. Top with additional shredded cheese and bake for about 30 minutes.

Below is a list of ingredients I worked up.

So you understand: I read recipes, then do my own thing, I improvise. The ricotta, for instance, is my idea. Ricotta has a lot of moisture so you don’t want to use too much of it. But it adds a nice creaminess to the quiche. You can spring for gruyere, if you want, because that cheese is standard for a classic French quiche. If you use gruyere, you should add a little heavy cream to avoid a dry texture.

Use your judgement on the number of eggs; it depends on their size.

Tip: Make more than enough filling. . . . For two of the three quiches I prepared today, I had to add more chard because I used pie dishes and not a shallower moule à tarte. Even with more chard, I still came up short of filling, so I turned the pie crust inward, creating a slightly different look (photo above). So maybe what came out of the oven was more pie than a quiche, but still delicious.

Bacon option: You can cook a few strips, then crack them up and add to the filling.

Serve this with a salad. It makes an easy summer meal. Buon appetito.

Julia’s Swiss Chard Quiche

• Pastry for a 9-inch quiche baking dish (moule à tarte)
• 1 big fat bunch of Swiss chard
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sliced leek or shallot
• Salt to taste
• A dash or three of garlic powder
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• ¾ cup finely shredded pecorino and/or provolone