Savory Chard Pie

This recipe is a standard go-to in our house. The flavors are beautiful and unique, the ingredients are healthy, and this dish is just as good when reheated later in the week.


You can almost always find chard year round. And this time of year your can find it at the Bloomington Winter Farmer's Market. It is grown all winter hydroponically by a local farmer and it is so amazing to cook with such wonderful and fresh local ingredients all year. The photo to the left is of the stems from rainbow chard which are incorporated into the pie. Nothing goes to waste here.

The original recipe for this dish was from Laura Calder. Her version uses bacon but it was quite easy to manipulate the recipe to make it vegetarian.

A couple of kitchen items will make this dish come together more easily: a 10 inch sping form pan, parchment paper, 1/2 lb. dry beans or pie weights.

Savory Chard Pie

• 1 pie crust (I cheat and use Pillsbury premade pie crusts)
• olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lb swiss or rainbow chard
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup creme fraiche (easily found in the cheese section of Bloomingfoods east side)
• 4 oz gruyere cheese, grated
• a generous handfull of raisins
• a small handfull of pine nuts
• salt and black pepper

To start, blind bake the pie crust in a 10 inch spring form pan or deep pie plate (I prefer to use a spring form pan because it makes for a lovely presentation, but it will be delicious either way). HOW TO BLIND BAKE: Pre-heat the oven to 450.  Roll out the pie crust and place in the spring form pan, pressing the crust up the sides of the pan. Take a large piece of parchment paper and lay it over the pan. Then pour in pie weights or dry beans to cover the bottom of the pie.  This will keep the crust from rising up during baking. Then place in the heated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven, lift out the parchement paper with the beans and then return the pan to the oven for three more minutes to allow the bottom of the crust to brown slightly. Remove from the oven and set aside until you are ready to bake the pie.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375.

Start by filling your sink with cold water. Add the chard, stems and all, and let them soak for a few minutes to loosen any dirt. Then pick up each leaf, grab the bottom of the stem in one hand, and use the other hand to pull the leaf from the stem. If the stem breaks off with the leaf, it's OK because it means that the stems are tender at that point.  Save the stems and put the  leaves back in the water to continue to soak.

In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 3 mintues. Then add the garlic and cook for two more minutes, stirring often to keep the vegetables from browning too much. Remove the shallots and garlic to a large bowl.

Put the pan back on the heat over medium.  Add olive oil to the pan. Chop the chard stems into small pieces and add to the pan with salt and pepper. Put a lid on the pan and cook for 4 minutes.  While the chard stems are cooking, remove the leaves from the water and wring dry.  Chop the leaves coursely.  Then add the leaves to the pan, season again with salt and pepper, and cook for five minutes uncovered. The leave should be well wilted.  Remove the chard and add to the bowl with the shallots and garlic. (If there is water in the bottom of the pan, use a slotted spoon to remove the chard leaving the water behind.)

In a dry saute pan, add the pine nuts and toast over medium high heat, stirring often, until they start to brown.  Add them to the bowl with the chard. 

Now add the large handfull of raisins to the bowl as well and stir to combine. Then add the grated cheese and stir to combine. Now check for seasoning. You want this mixture of chard, raisins, pine nuts, shallots, garlic and cheese to be very flavorful at this point.

In a seperate bowl, combine the eggs and creme fraiche and beat until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the vegetable mixture into the pie crust.  This should fill the crust almost to the top. Then pour the egg and creme fraiche mixture over the top as evenly as possible. It will look as if it is about to overflow, but it should not...

Now place the pie in the heated oven and bake for 35 minutes, until set in the center.  I find that a couple of extra minutes in the oven does not hurt this dish at all.

Let cool slightly or serve at room temperature. This pie will serve six as a main course when served with a salad.

If there are left overs, it can be eaten cold and it is delicious. Or reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds to warm through.