Fudanso to feta chiizu no taruto / Swiss chard and feta cheese tart

I like to serve this savory tart as an appetizer or snack for a small gathering. It doesn't look glamorous, but it does appeal to your taste buds, and your stomach -- probably because of the potatoes. Adapted from the Torta Verde recipe originally found in a Saveur magazine website years ago. 

1/8 of recipe (when made with sheep milk feta cheese with 270 mg sodium/28 g):
109 calories; 4.1 g protein; 4.2 g fat; 12.7 g carbohydrate; 11.6 g net carbs; 108 mg sodium; 34 mg cholesterol; 1.1 g fiber


<Ingredients>

(Makes 1 22-25 cm tart)

For tart dough
80 g flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
3 tbsp water

For fillings
5-7 small/medium leaves Swiss chard (116 g in photo)
1/2 medium onion (120 g in photo)
Handful potatoes (7 small Rose Finn potatoes; 162 g in photo)
Several sprigs Italian parsley
60 g sheep milk feta cheese
40 g paneer Indian cottage cheese or cottage cheese made without salt
1 egg (optional)
Black pepper, to taste

1 tbsp rice vinegar or other mild vinegar (to sprinkle on Swiss chard; not in photo)
1 tsp olive oil (optional; to drizzle on top of tart later; not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

In a bowl, put flour and salt, and mix.

Drizzle olive oil, and mix.

Pour slightly less than 3 tbsp water, and mix well.
If dough mixture seems dry, add more water; if it seems wet, add some flour, approx. 1 tsp at a time. 

When dough has come together, knead until smooth and glossy.

Wrap with plastic, and let sit in fridge for 2+ hours.

2.

Boil potatoes until soft.

Drain, and let cool.

3.

Cut off tough stems of Swiss chard, and chop leaves into smaller pieces.

Place in a bowl, sprinkle rice vinegar, and rub until soft for 1-2 minutes.

Squeeze out excess water, and place in a clean bowl.

4.

Finely chop onion and parsley.
Dice potatoes (skinning is optional).

5.

Add onion, parsley, potatoes, egg, feta and paneer to Swiss chard, and mix well.
Add black pepper, and mix well.

6.
When ready to assemble, heat oven to 370-380 F/190 C.


7.

Cut dough in half.

Roll out larger piece (if there is a difference) into a very thin roundish shape.

8.

Place dough over parchment paper fitted in baking sheet, and place fillings on top.

Roll out other half, and place on top of fillings.

Fold bottom dough over edge of top dough, and gently press to seal.

9.

Make dimples on top, and drizzle olive oil.

10.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until top is lightly golden.

Ready to serve.

<Notes>

• If making a larger amount of dough, kneading it is easier on a pastry board. Use your lower palm when kneading, as you do when making pasta dough.
• There is no need to cut off the young, tender stems of Swiss chard.
• If Swiss chard seems tough (does not release water easily), let it sit for 10 minutes or so after rubbing in vinegar.
• When using Swiss chard with colorful stems, the color usually tints the fillings. The bright dark pink variety and red variety give nice colorful results. (Photo above does not show the effect.)
• Without egg, the tart tastes quite light. Nor do people notice something is missing, and the fillings do not crumble so much when serving. Eliminating egg would instantly lower the above cholesterol figure by about 200 mg.
• I cannot find the original recipe on the magazine website, but it is included in Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian.
• Whole recipe above: 872 calories; 32.8 g protein; 33.8 g fat; 101.5 g carbohydrate; 92.6 g net carbs; 861 mg sodium; 268 mg cholesterol; 8.9 g fiber