Sautéed Swiss chard and sweet onions are layered over a creamy base of seasoned crème fraiche and ricotta cheese then topped with bacon. Using a pre-made pastry crust, this easy savory tarte is an excellent quick dinner solution your whole family will love.
An Alternative to Ordering Pizza…Again
Getting dinner ready quickly on some nights seems almost impossible. There have been so many times where I’ve gotten off work (or should I say logged off) and either have some errands to run or whatever I was originally planning to make is either too much work or sometimes just too healthy for how I’m feeling at the time. Yes, I do sometimes get carried away making dinner each day. I fully admit I struggle not going overboard sometimes making food for myself. And my best attempts to be healthy sometimes are thwarted by my cravings for pizza or cheeseburgers. This is especially problematic when I am not feeling good from my autoimmune issues – I just want to do as little as possible and eat something really comforting.
Usually, the solution has been grilled cheese and canned tomato soup, or store-bought frozen pizza, or night after night of takeout. This gets expensive and you get tired of tomato and cheese stuff quick. In steps this lovely, elegant tarte! Using a pre-made pastry crust, this easy savory tarte is an excellent quick dinner solution for all those nights where whatever was on the menu before is too much to deal with OR when you know you are not going to have a ton of time to put dinner together. I really like this because not only does it have one of my favorite protein sources and comfort foods (i.e., bacon) with swiss chard which makes me feel a little less awful about my indulgence. This super delicious tarte has been a regular in our house since I’ve been having to spend more time resting for my health, but it’s so good, I won’t be rotating this out of the dinner repertoire soon even though I’ve been feeling a lot better lately. Once you try this, you will also be in love. This is great on its own, but also nice with a small salad for something fresh and bright to compliment the rich and warm flavors of the tarte.
Swiss Chard and Bacon Tarte
Based on the Classic Tarte Flambee recipe from Melissa Clark’s Dinner in French: My Recipes by way of France.
“Classic Tarte Flambee.” Dinner in French: My Recipes by Way of France, by Melissa Clark, Crown Publishing Group, 2020, pp. 125–127.
Ingredients:
- 1 pre-made puff pastry dough or pie crust (both work well, your preference really)
- 4 strips thick cut bacon, chopped
- ½ of a medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch (roughly 1 lb) swiss chard, thick stems removed and roughly chopped
- ½ cup crème fraiche or full fat sour cream
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out your pastry crust to a rough 12” by 16” rectangle. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Set aside.
- Start cooking the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, however, stop short of just cooking it completely. The bacon will finish cooking once in the oven. Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving approximately 2 tbsp of the bacon grease in the pan to cook the vegetables in.
- Next, toss the onion in the skillet and cook over medium heat until they begin to soften. Add the swiss chard to the pan, in batches as necessary so that you do not overfill. Cook the vegetables until the chard is wilted and the extra liquids from the veggies have cooked off. Remove the vegetables from heat.
- Make the cheese sauce for the tarte by combing the crème fraiche, the ricotta cheese, nutmeg in a bowl.
- Spread the cheese sauce mixture evenly over the prepared pasty dough, leaving approximately ½” of pastry uncovered around the edge of the tarte. Dust the cheese sauce lightly with salt and pepper.
- Next scatter the swiss chard and onions over the top of the cheese sauce until completely covered. Finish the tarte by topping with the chopped bacon.
- Pop the tarte in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the edges of the tarte are golden brown and the bacon is fully cooked.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Looking for another wonderful and quick dinner idea? Check out my Salmon Pasta Recipe!