This Swiss Chard tart with Chevre and Leeks is a must make if you are looking for a vegetarian entree that is festive enough for a special occasion. It is filled with swiss chard, fresh crumbled goat cheese, golden raisins in a homemade tart shell. 

tart cut into wedges on a round board

This post was originally shared on December 16th, 2011, I have updated the images and text.

Why We Love This Savory Swiss Chard Tart with Goat Cheese

If the idea of a savory tart sounds intimidating, I want to assure you that it is not. It is very similar to quiche, but the crust is easier because it doesn’t have to be rolled out. Once the tart dough is made, you just press it down into the pan, and bake it. When the sides come off, you have pretty fluted edges, that make it look so fancy.

Filling the tart with fresh sauteed Swiss chard and leeks is a great way to use Swiss chard. Their flavors pair so well with the leeks, golden raisins, pine nuts and goat cheese. The flavor combination is phenomenal! 

I am a big fan of savory pies like this one {be sure to try my Savory Galette and my Spinach and Feta Filo Pie} for holiday meals and special occasions because they are beautiful and festive! This tart can work as a vegetarian main course or it can be added to a meal as a side dish. It is also a great brunch option!

Ingredients For This Savory Swiss Chard Tart Recipe

CRUST

ingredients for crust
  • All-purpose flour, plus 1 to 2 teaspoon for brushing crust
  • Whole-wheat flour
  • Salt
  • Unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
  • Avocado oil or organic canola oil
  • Ice cold water

FILLING

ingredients for filling
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Swiss chard or Rainbow Chard: see here how to cut and clean chard.
  • Leeks sliced and cleaned
  • Salt, pepper, dry thyme and nutmeg
  • Golden raisins
  • Sliced almonds or pine nuts for garnish
  • Whole milk or half and half
  • Eggs
  • Goat cheese, crumbled

How To Make The Tart Shell

Short Dough

One of the tricks to making a tender tart dough is making sure the dough is short, a technical term for high fat pastry dough which is also low in moisture. Short dough gets its name because, the length of the strands of gluten is short. 

The gluten strands can’t form when there is a relatively high amount of fat and not much moisture. This contributes to its crispy and tender texture.

Tips To Make It Healthier

If the idea of a high fat dough doesn’t sound too healthy, you are right. That’s why I tweaked this a bit to make it a bit more healthy. 

  • Whole Wheat Flour: I used a blend of all-purpose and whole-wheat flour for the flour. The whole-wheat adds some additional fiber and nutrients because it is not as refined and contains all the parts of the wheat germ and bran. 
  • Less Butter: For this crust, I used some butter for the shortening and then added in oil as well, which is not traditional, but it is lower in saturated fat. 

Getting The Right Texture

To make this easier, I did this crust recipe in the food processor. Combine the dry ingredients and pulse them to combine. Then add the cold butter and cut it in by pulsing. Then remove the lid, drizzle on the oil. Pulse that in as well.

Next add ice water. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then pulse it together. If the mixture is dry and doesn’t clump together well, add in one to two more tablespoons water. When you squeeze it together, it should hold together. 

Forming the Crust

Make sure you spray your tart pan with cooking spray before you begin. It is also much easier to work with a tart shell in a tart pan (with a removable bottom) when it is on a sheet pan. Also note that this recipe is for an 11-inch tart pan, so if yours is smaller, the ratios will be off. 

Empty the dough mixture into the tart pan. It is okay if it is crumbly. Press it down, and it will start to adhere to itself as you work. Press it evenly across the bottom of the pan and into the corners. Press it up the sides of the pan. Note that this process takes a few minutes but it can be worked into the corners and up the sides.

Dock and Bake

To keep the crust from puffing up as you bake it, use the tines of a fork to poke steam holes into the crust. Press the fork all the way down to make holes in the crust. 

Transfer the baking sheet with the tart pan into the oven. Bake the crust to brown and crisp it up before adding the filling. This takes only about 15 minutes. 

The crust may crack: This is normal! There is not much gluten-development, so this means that the crust will be more tender. Use the extra flour (two teaspoons) to brush into the docking holes and any cracks that formed. 

How To Make This Swiss Chard Tart 

Once you place the tart shell in the oven, you are ready to prep the filling. The filling is made in two parts, one the swiss chard and leek mixture, and two, the chevre and egg mixture. 

Sautee The Leeks and Swiss Chard

  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Swiss chard stems and leeks and cook, stirring often until the leeks are softened and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg.
  • Add chopped Swiss chard leaves, 1 handful at a time, cooking and stirring to wilt, until all of the chard leaves are added. Add the 2 tablespoons water.
  • Cover and cook the veggies until the Swiss chard stems are tender, and the leaves are completely cooked down, about 5 minutes. Stir in raisins.

Chevre and Egg Custard

Like a quiche, this tart has an egg and cheese base that glues it all together. It is proportionally much less eggy than a quiche, and the Swiss chard really is the star of the show.

To make the custard, combine the milk (or half and half to make it more indulgent) and egg with the crumbled goat cheese in a blender. Puree it to combine it and to break up the cheese into the eggs.

the egg mixture after the goat cheese is blended in

You don’t want to incorporate too much air into it, so only puree it for a few seconds. It is okay if the cheese doesn’t completely break up in the mix and there may be some small chunks remaining. 

To Assemble and Bake

Once the filling is cooked, the tart shell is baked and the custard is made, you are ready to assemble to tart. 

  1. Spread the chard and leek mixture out over the crust evenly.
  2. Pour on the egg mixture and then sprinkle with the almonds or pine nuts.
  3. Bake the tart until the egg custard is set up and the crust is browned. 

Let the tart cool before removing sides. Serve warm, room temperature or cold. 

slices of tart on plates

Recipe FAQs

Why does the crust crack?

This is normal. To keep the crust crisp and not soggy, it is important to not use too much liquid. If it cracks, simply use a pastry brush to brush flour over the cracks and docking holes. This will prevent the filling from seeping out through the cracks.

Can I use all butter instead of butter and oil in the crust?

You can use all butter, and add 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon. The mixture will be dryer so you will need one to two more tablespoons water to achieve the right texture.

Make Ahead Tips and Serving Suggestions

Make Ahead

To make ahead for brunch or entertaining, I think it is best served room temperature. You can bake it up to two hours ahead.

You can also refrigerate it and reheat it, but the texture is not as great as when it is first baked. To reheat it in the oven , place the tart (without the pan sides) on a sheet pan. Use a cool oven (325 degrees F) and heat until it is heated through, about 22 minutes. 

Serving Suggestions

These Cheddar Roasted Tomatoes would be a nice late summer or fall side dish for this tart. 

For brunch, you could serve it with Sweet Potato Hash and melon mint salad

These Grilled Potatoes are another side that would pair well with this tart any day of the week. 

For a vegetarian appetizer with similar vibes try these Healthy Stuffed Mushrooms.

For a holiday meal this is a great vegetarian main course alternative, and would pair well with roasted root vegetables with herbs or butternut squash with garlic and herbs

More Swiss Chard Recipes

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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swiss chard tart with chevre and leeks


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

Description

This Swiss Chard Tart is a festive vegetarian entree perfect for entertaining and special occasions. The homemade tart crust is filled with sauteed chard, leeks, golden raisins, pine nuts and an easy egg and goat cheese custard.


Ingredients

Units Scale

CRUST

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus 1 to 2 teaspoon for brushing crust

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons avocado oil or organic canola oil

1/4 cup ice cold water, plus one to two tablespoons more if needed

FILLING

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 small bunches Swiss chard stems and chopped and separated

2 leeks halved, sliced and cleaned

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry thyme

Generous pinch nutmeg

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons sliced almonds or pine nuts for garnish

1/2 cup whole milk or half and half

3 eggs

3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray.
  2. Make crust: Process ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, whole-wheat pastry flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse to chop butter into the flour mixture until it resembles meal. Open lid, drizzle on avocado oil, and repeat pulsing until the oil is incorporated into the flour mixture. Open lid and drizzle cold water over the crumbs. Cover and pulse about 15 times, until the mixture is moist and starting to clump together. It will look like small pebbles, but when you squeeze it, it should hold together. If the mixture is very dry, add one to two more tablespoons water.
  3. Pat crumb mixture into the tart pan and press to make evenly thick all over and up sides. Press excess dough out of the corners and up the sides to make the sides thicker. A lightly floured dry measuring cup is useful to make the bottom flat. Press tines of a fork into the pastry down to the pan about 12 times with a fork.
  4. Transfer the tart pan to a baking sheet. Set in oven and bake until the crust is dry and set up and starting to pull from the sides, 13 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 1 to 2 teaspoon flour over the tart shell and brush into the fork holes and any cracks.
  5. Make Filling: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Swiss chard stems and leeks and cook, stirring often until the leeks are softened and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg. Add chopped Swiss chard leaves, 1 handful at a time, cooking and stirring to wilt, until all of the chard leaves are added. Add the 2 tablespoons water, cover and cook until the stems are tender, and the Chard leaves are completely cooked down, about 5 minutes. Add more water as necessary to prevent scorching. If the mixture is too moist, remove lid and allow to evaporate for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in raisins.
  6. Make custard: Puree eggs and milk and goat cheese in a blender until smooth.
  7. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Spread the Swiss Chard Filling out over the crust. Pour the Chevre Custard over the filling and garnish with the 2 tablespoons sliced almonds or pine nuts.
  8. Bake the tart on the baking sheet until the shell is browned, the filling is set up, lightly golden and puffed, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes before removing tart pan sides.

Notes

Tips For Crust

Make sure you spray your tart pan with cooking spray before you begin.

It is also much easier to work with a tart shell in a tart pan (with a removable bottom) when it is on a sheet pan.

Empty the dough mixture into the tart pan. It is okay if it is crumbly. Press it down, and it will start to adhere to itself as you work. Press it evenly across the bottom of the pan and into the corners. Press it up the sides of the pan. Note that this process takes a few minutes but it can be worked into the corners and up the sides.

If the tart cracks in the oven in step 4, that is okay, simply brush the flour into the cracks and docking holes. It will prevent the egg custard from flowing out the holes.

  • Prep Time: 55 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Calories: 600
  • Sugar: 9 g
  • Sodium: 483 mg
  • Fat: 55 g
  • Saturated Fat: 7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 44 g
  • Fiber: 5 g
  • Protein: 22 g

Photography in this post was provided by Aysegul Sanford of FoolproofLiving.com.