Escarole and salami tart

Something I’ve been trying to do more often is to bring lunch to work – eating out gets more expensive by the minute while the quality and flavor of the food get worse.

This tart might seem like a lot of work – making your own pastry! – but believe me, it’s not: you just need to plan ahead. Go wild with the filling: the original was a mix of spinach and ham, but I used what I had in my fridge. Since the tart tastes great both warm and at room temperature I brought the leftovers in my lunchbox – but, to be honest, I wish I’d had lunch somewhere else. ;)

Escarole and salami tart
adapted from the wonderful and delicious Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life

Pastry:
250g all-purpose flour
100g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
30g freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten with a fork
about 1 teaspoon milk, more if necessary

Filling:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
300g (11oz) escarole, coarsely chopped
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup crème fraîche – I used homemade sour cream*
30g freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for grating
2 large eggs
100g (4oz) salami slices

Make the pastry: put the flour, butter, cheese and a generous pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds, until the mixture is crumbly and fine. Pour in the egg and add the milk. Pulse for a few more seconds until the mixture comes together. Scoop your dough out of the food processor onto a clean, floured work surface and pat it a few times to make it more compact – don't knead it. Shape it into a disk, wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for at least one hour.
Lightly butter a 33x23cm (13¼x9¼in) baking sheet. Roll out the pastry between two sheets of lightly floured baking paper until you have a 35x25cm (14x10in) rectangle. Line the sheet with the pastry, leaving a 1cm (½in) overhang. Pinch this overhanging dough up to give a little rim. This not only gives it a rustic edge but also stops the pastry from shrinking and it means there’s no need to fill the pastry case with beans or rice before baking it blind. Prick the pastry all over with a fork and chill in the freezer for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
Make the filling: heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and a pinch of salt and gently fry the onions on a low heat for 10 minutes until they're soft and sweet, but don't let them color. Turn up the heat, add the garlic, the escarole (in batches if your pan isn't big enough) and the thyme. Season lightly and give it a good stir. Take the pan off the heat when the escarole has wilted – this will only take a couple of minutes. Set aside.
Put the crème fraîche (or sour cream) into a bowl, stir in the parmesan, eggs and a pinch of salt and pepper, mix together and set aside.
Remove the sheet from the fridge and bake your pastry crust in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden. (This is called baking it blind, and it stops the pastry from going soggy when you add the filling.)
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spread the escarole mixture over it. Lay the salami slices over the escarole, then spoon the crème fraîche mixture evenly over the top, smoothing it out with the back of the spoon. Grate over a generous helping of Parmesan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the filling has set.
Delicious warm or at room temperature.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 4

Golden mixed greens pie

It might look like I live on sweets, but no – I eat savory food, too, and try to eat my greens as frequently as possible. :)
This tart is delicious and not difficult to make – you just need to plan accordingly so the dough has time to rise and the good thing is: you can make it in advance and reheat it before serving.

Golden mixed greens pie
slightly adapted from the absolutely gorgeous Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World

Dough:
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm whole milk
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (60g) cake flour*
melted butter, for brushing

Filling:
1 large bunch dandelion greens or other bitter greens – I used escarole
1 large bunch spinach
½ tablespoon olive oil + more if necessary
1 garlic clove, minced
1 scallion, white and most of green parts, chopped
salt, to taste (about ¾ teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 ½ tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted and cooled

Dough: dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk and stir in 1 ½ tablespoons of the all purpose flour.
Break the eggs into the large bowl of an electric mixer (attached with the dough hook) and lightly whisk them with a fork. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining all purpose flour and mix on low speed until very smooth. Add the sugar, salt and butter and mix well. Add the cake flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes or until smooth.
Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover well with plastic and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the filling: chop the greens into 2.5cm (1in) pieces, discarding any thick stems.
In a very large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and scallions and cook for about 1 minute, until the scallions begin to soften. Raise the heat to high, add the chopped greens, salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute or until greens are wilted (work in batches if necessary). Transfer the greens to a plate and let cool to room temperature. Taste for salt the stir through the nutmeg and pine nuts.
Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil then lightly brush the foil with oil.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 2 slightly unequal pieces: the larger one will be the bottom crust. Flatten the larger piece of dough onto an oval about 40x25cm (16x10in) and transfer onto the prepared sheet. Press the filling onto a colander, using your hands too, to extract the maximum water possible. Spread the filling over the dough leaving a generous 2.5cm (1in) rim all around uncovered. Roll the remaining piece of dough onto an oval about 37x20cm (15x8in). Place it over the filling and fold the edges of the bottom dough up over the edges of the top to seal the edges in the filling, then twist it, making a twisted rolled edge all round. Use a sharp knife to make slits in the top crust. Brush with the melted butter (I forgot to do that).
Bake the pie for 8 minutes, then lower the heat to 200°C/400°F and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until pie is deep, rich golden brown.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 8-10