Tourte de Blette (Swiss Chard Pie)

In the "old town" of Nice is a cooking school that specializes in the art of Niçois cooking. Rosa Jackson runs Les Petits Farcis (meaning small stuffed things, as in appetizers) out of her beautifully renovated 17th century apartment. A Cordon Bleu-trained cook, Rosa is a cookbook author, contributor to several international food publications, an editor of Fodor's Guide to Provence and the Cote d'Azur, and runs the custom-designed itinerary service www.edible-paris.com. Here Rosa shares a recipes from her cooking school curriculum.

Blette (Swiss chard) probably wins the prize as the most popular Niçois vegetable, because it can be grown year-round in the area’s arid climate. In local bakeries you’ll come across two types of tourte de blettes, the savory one and a sweet version made with raisins, pine nuts and a little rum and topped with icing sugar. If the puff pastry used here is too rich for you, you can use the pissaladière dough instead, dividing into two and rolling it very thin. I usually don’t bother to make my own puff pastry, but I am careful to choose a brand made entirely with butter and free of additives.

Tourte de Blettes
(Contributed by Rosa Jackson)

Ingredients:
1 lb Swiss chard leaves
4 oz short-grain rice, such as arborio
1 onion
4 oz bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
3 eggs
2 oz Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 sheets ready-made puff pastry

Preparation:
Bring a medium pot of water to the boil and cook the rice for about 20 mins. Drain and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add a small handful of coarse salt and blanch the chard leaves for about 5 mins. Rinse the leaves in cold water, squeeze dry and chop finely.

Chop the onion finely and cut the bacon into small dice. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and bacon over medium heat until the bacon starts to brown lightly. Add the chard and sauté for about 5 mins. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add 2 of the eggs, the grated Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Place the pastry on a large baking sheet and spread out the filling to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Top with the second sheet of pastry and press the edges together. Beat the remaining egg and brush the pastry with the egg. Bake for 35 to 40 mins at 400 F.

Variation: Another popular tart in Nice is filled with zucchini (courgettes). Just replace the chard with finely diced zucchini and proceed exactly the same way. Alternatively, make the same recipe using finely diced pumpkin or squash instead of zucchini. Serves 6