RE: Medieval Recipes - Vegetable-Cheese Tourte from Le Ménagier de Paris

[Guest guest]

Vegetable-Cheese Tourte from Le Ménagier de Paris

 

For the pâte brisée

1 1/2 cup flour (200g)

7 tb butter (100 g)

3 tb water, approx.

1/2 tsp salt

 

For the filling

7 oz chard leaves (200g)

7 oz spinach (200g)

a handful of chervil

a handful of parsley

a handful of dill or fennel fronds

8 oz cream cheese, softened (250g)

5 oz moderately rich, rather mild cheese such as raclette, or a very young

tomme de Savoie or other tomme (150g)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp fine spices (recipe to follow)

2 tsp ground ginger

3 oz freshly grated parmesan or Swiss gruyere cheese (8o g) (about 1/2 cup

parmesan or 3/4 cup gruyere, lightly packed)

salt

 

An hour or two in advance, prepare the pâte brisée according to the

instructions given below. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until

needed.

 

Wash the greens and herbs in several changes of cold water. Remove the

stems and discard. Finely chop all the leaves and dry thoroughly in a

towel, pressing to remove as much moisture as possible.

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)

 

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until

smooth; grate the raclette or tomme into the bowl, and add the chopped

greens. Mix until smooth, then add the eggs, spice mixture, and ginger.

Add salt to taste.

 

Roll out the dough and line a deep 9 inch (22 cm) tart pan. Line the dough

with a sheet of aluminum foil and fill with baking weights or dried beans.

Bake the shell for 8 minutes; remove the foil and weights and bake for

another 5 minutes. Add the filling, sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese,

and bake for an hour, or until the top is golden and the bottom thoroughly

baked. if you find that the tourte is browning too quickly, lower the heat

to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

 

" The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy " by Odile Redon,

Françoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi