Original Niçois name: Torta de Blea (Tourte de Blettes in French)
City: Nice (France)
Creator: Martino Rossi (Italian Famous Chef on the XVe Century)
Other recipes
Rest of meal such as ravioli stuffed with cheese, beef and ham, squash, chickpeas or chestnuts for a salty version
Other sweet variations – Pears, pineapple, banana and other gourmet fruits …
Declination: Salty or sweet pie, although it is a combination of both, in the two cases, the country of Nice, offers us there one of its signature dishes, like the “Pissaladière” (Caramelized Onion Pizza), the famous Nicoise Salad, the “Farcis Niçois” ( Vegetables emptied and stuffed with beef and pork), “Merda de can” (Gnocchi with chard, translate literally: dog poop) or Pan Bagnat (Round bread bathed in olive oil garnished with Niçoise Salad ingredients). Some of these recipes are in preparation for the blog, hoping that they please you as much as they please my palate.
But today we will see the SWEET RAINBOW CHARD PIE made in Whistler, a version revisited by myself, with local Canadian products.
Bon appétit!
What you need for this recipe
(Ban the plastic if you buy new ones, but try first to reuse your tools)
A tiny kitchen and the Niçois spirit (If you do not have a tiny kitchen, but a huge one, it’s working too, for the rest….)
A KitchenAid or your hands may works fine
A medium stainless steel bowl 3 quarts
A Stainless Steel Shaker or a simple Stainless Steel Strainer
A PIE PAN
A Stainless Steel Bread Knife
An alimentary film made by hand, with beeswax and organic tissue (this recipe also arrives)
A wooden spatula
Some plates and a scale to weight the ingredients
Ingredients for a 9/10inch / 22/26cm Pie Pan:
For the dough:
500g of all-purpose but prefered local flour ORGANIC/NON GMO
40g of Amond flour, Organic if you find it
200g of unsalted butter (European style preferably local and grass feed/organic or Breton if the Breton spirit has already owned you)
2 large eggs (Local/organic and free range)
140g of organic sugar
1 pinch of sea salt (1,5g max)
1 to 2 egg shell water to adjust the binding of the ingredients, the more your dough is wet or your environment, the less water you need
For the garnish:
6 to 8 chards (more if you may find, tender baby chards, I used rainbow chards in my recipe)
2 large eggs
2 organic local apples
130g of dried raisins
Dark Rum
1 pinch of black pepper (My secret: I love to add grated orange zest)
1 soup spoon Orange blossom water (Or water + 2 drop af almond extract)
French Pastis (You may use a different spirit, anis or not, if you would like an alcohol free pie, replace the spirit with chocolate or coffee drink, you may also let speak your inspiration)
60 g grated Parmesan cheese
100g of pine nuts
150g of organic sugar
1 soup poon of olive oil
The course of the recipe
1. Put the Niçoise national hymn and dance around the ingredients or simply prepare all the ingredients2. Separate the leaves from the chard ribs, save them in a bowl3. Overlay the chard leafs and cut into strips of 6 to 10 millimeters, personally I love them wide (10mm) to maintain the texture of the chard leafBonus: Keep the ribs chard to do it a delicious gratin, click on the picture for the free recipe4. In a bowl, put the raisins and soak them with the rum5. In order add and mix gently with your hands or fork: pine nuts, parmesan cheese, sugar, eggs beaten, olive oil, chard and sprinkle with a little pastis, let stand at least 1 hour at fresh so that the mixture is impregnated with all the flavors the time to make the dough. Cover with a handmade food film with fabric and beeswax, or a fine mesh fabric6. Prepare the ingredients of the dough and shout “Nissa La Bella” for no reason or simply because the Nice spirit is in you now. Or just to scare your children7. Put the flour, almond powder, the sugar and stir8. Add the pinch of salt9. Mix by hand or with a mixer10. Put the butter previously cut into small cube and sand your preparation with the mixer or by hand in order to incorporate the butter in the dry elementsBonus: No date or date expired – How to knows if your egg still able to be consumed? Click on the picture to got this tips.11. Add the beaten eggs, make the dough homogeneous, add the water if necessary in case of a lack of moisture in the preparation12. Knead with your hands if the kitchenaid does not make your dough homogeneous13. Form a ball14. Then two15. Enclose them in a thin fiber fabric or individually in a handmade food film with fabric and beeswax, reserve them in the fridge for 1 hour minimum16. Flour and lower your first ball to make the base of your pie17. Prick the dough with a fork, wrap it on your rolling pin, then gently place it on your pie pan18. Leave some dough to overflow the mold19. Fill the base with your garnish, sprinkle lightly with orange blossom water20. Cut your 2 apples in half, then make regular slices of 2 to 4 mm21. Make an apple hat on your filling and drizzle with a little bit of orange blossom water22. Lower your second ball, prick it with a fork, place it on the top of your pie to close it23. Bring the dough of the top by binding it on the dough forming the base, well joined by forming small waves in agreement with the pie pan24. Bake in a hot oven. 350°F / 180°C between 45 and 55 minutes25. Your pie is golden, it should not burn, the slight color on the top, indicates that your pie is cooked, let warm for 10 min at room temperature, unmold with a plate if your pie pan has no removable bottom26. Cut diamonds27. Sprinkle chard pie with icing sugarFINAL: Serve warm or cold on a plate, for a refined dessert, you may add on the side a handmade Gianduja Ice Cream, Vanilla or some almond pears with a chocolate sauceOr simply put the dish in the middle of the table and contemplate the greedy faces of your friends or familyWine and Food Pairing: Benjamin Bridge Brut NV – Nova Scotia Canada – A Taste of FlavorWine and Food Pairing: 50th Parallel Estate Riesling – A lovely local pairing, the freshness and the minerality of this Riesling, not to sweet, match perfectly with the chard pie when is consumed lukewarm
or your hands may works fine
3 quarts
or a simple Stainless Steel Strainer
or your hands may works fine
or a simple Stainless Steel Strainer
English 
French
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