Deep Dish Rainbow Chard and Comté Quiche
Makes 6 servings

The Italian expression “all’improviso,” which translates roughly to “spontaneously” or “on the fly,” perfectly describes this comforting quiche that I made for supper on a recent blustery evening. That is, it wasn’t at all what I intended to make.

In fact, the quiche that first took shape in my mind was one that featured crab, not Swiss chard. I had been thinking about quiche because I had just used a $25 gift card to purchase a deep-dish quiche pan with a removable bottom. What, I thought, could be more appetizing on a wintry night than a quiche filled with rich crab meat, cream, cheese, and maybe a little bacon? Except that a pound of good, fresh back fin crab meat is hovering around $25 these days.

From there, my quiche morphed into a bacon and spinach quiche—perfectly good but really not that special. At the grocery store, I happened upon a 1-pound bag of mixed greens, including rainbow chard and white, green, and purple kale. The greens were vibrantly colored and looked quite fresh. I figured I would sauté them in olive oil with lots of garlic and serve them as a side dish. It wasn’t until they were in the sauté pan that I realized that they belonged in the quiche rather than next to it. Once I mixed in chopped bacon, which I had sautéed until it was almost but not quite crisp, I knew I had done a good thing.

Why did I choose Comté for the cheese in my quiche? The standard quiche cheese is gruyere, but I am just not that fond of it. Jarlsburg, on the other hand, is too mild. Comté—nutty, a little sweet and mildly tangy with a finish that is vaguely reminiscent of caraway (to me, anyway)—fits the bill perfectly. Plus, it melts beautifully.

My favorite crust for quiche is Jacques Pepin’s recipe for pâte brisée. I’ve doubled the recipe to fit into a deep-dish quiche pan.

For the crust:

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
About 6 tablespoons ice water

For the quiche:

6 slices smoky bacon, diced and fried in a skillet until almost crisp
2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound rainbow chard or a mix of chard and kale, coarsely chopped or shredded
3 large cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin
Kosher or sea salt
Crushed red pepper flakes
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded Comté cheese 

Make the crust: Place the flour, salt, and sugar into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly to combine them. Distribute the butter around the bowl and pulse until the butter is broken into small pieces. With the motor running, add the water and process until the dough begins to adhere. You may need to add a little less or a little more water, depending on the dryness of the flour. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and press it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

Roll the chilled disk of dough into a large circle, about 15 inches in diameter. Wrap the circle of dough around the rolling pin and carefully unroll it over the pan, pressing it gently into the bottom and up the sides. Trim the overhang to about 1/2 inch and fold it in, pressing it against the inside rim to reinforce the sides of the tart shell. Refrigerate the shell for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line the chilled tart shell with parchment paper and fill with beans or pie weights. Place the quiche pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it for 20 minutes. Carefully lift out the parchment paper and weights and bake the shell for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until it is lightly browned on the inside. Remove the shell from the oven and set it on a rack. Reduce the heat in the oven to 375.

Make the filling: Warm the oil and garlic in a large, deep skillet placed over medium heat until the garlic starts to soften and barely sizzle. Do not brown it or it will become bitter. Add the greens by the handful and use tongs to stir them around to coat them with the oil. Cover the pan and let the greens wilt for a few minutes. Continue to add more greens as those inside the pan begin to wilt until you have added them all. Uncover the pan and add a sprinkle of salt and some red pepper flakes. Sauté the greens, turning them frequently, for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are completely tender. Reduce the heat to medium-low if necessary to prevent them from burning. When the greens are cooked, add the bacon and toss with tongs to incorporate them into the greens. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream and add a generous grinding of black pepper. Stir in the cooked greens and the comté cheese. Place the quiche pan with the baked tart shell back onto the baking sheet and pour the filling into the shell. Bake the quiche until it is puffed and beautifully browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the quiche from the oven and set it on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving. 

© 2009 Domenica Marchetti

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