For the Pastry:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup ice water (a little more if needed)
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes. Add to the flour mixture and with a pastry blender or knife, cut the butter into the flour until it is in small crumbs. Add the ice water and stir in with a fork until pastry comes together. If dry, add a little more water. Bring pastry together with your hands and form into a flattened disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Flour a work surface, and remove pastry from the plastic and roll it out into a 14" circle. Put pastry into a 9" springform pan. Return to refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour to firm up butter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line pastry with parchment paper and fill the springform pan with dried beans. Put springform pan on a sheet pan and blind bake the pastry for approximately 15 minutes. The butter in the pastry will leak from the springform pan a little so it is a good idea to have it on a sheet pan so as not to drip in your oven. Carefully remove beans and parchment paper and continue to bake pastry shell for 10 more minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside while you make the filling.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 slices thick bacon, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 pounds Swiss Chard, preferably Rainbow Chard
3 eggs
1 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream and sour cream combined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
Handful of dried cranberries
Handful of toasted almonds or pine nuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a saute pan and fry the shallots until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Remove to a plate. In the same pan, fry the bacon until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Remove to the plate with the shallots. Divide the chard leaves from the ribs; chop the ribs quite small and shred the leaves. First, fry the ribs in the bacon fat until tender. (Cook's Note: You may want to cover the pan for a few minutes to speed up the process.) Add the chard leaves to the pan, cover and wilt, about 3 minutes.
Beat the eggs together with the creme fraiche, and season with salt, and pepper.
In a large bowl, toss the shallots, bacon, chard stems and leaves, cheese, cranberries, and nuts, to combine evenly. Fill the tart shell with the vegetable mixture with a slotted spoon so that any liquid will be left behind. Pour over the cream mixture. Bake tart on a sheet pan until the tart has set, about 30 minutes.