ready to be served
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the historical novel A Bakery in Paris by Aimie Runyan1, which alternates between the story of Lisette and that of her great-granddaughter Micheline. Both lived in Paris. Lisette’s story is set during the German siege (1870-1871)2 and subsequent Commune (1871)3, that of Micheline immediately after the end of WWII.
Lisette is the original founder and owner of the title’s bakery, which Micheline reopens, offering the usual assortment of French pastries, prepared based on Lisette’s recipes (documented in a notebook and provided at the end of some of the chapters) and her culinary academy training.
One of the pastries is croquembouche (pièce montée). Years ago I made a version of it where I used melted chocolate (70% cocoa) instead of caramelized sugar (zucchero caramellato) to bind the choux pastry, because “I don’t like the contrast between the hard caramelized sugar and the lightly crisp bignè shell, which segues immediately into the soft filling. Melted chocolate offers, in my opinion, the perfect binding material: it provides stability by hardening into a layer of the right consistency, so the progression of taking one bite is: 1) crack thin layer of chocolate, 2) break crisp bignè shell, 3) glide into creamy filling. Basically, heaven.”4
After her husband, Théo, dies fighting with the Communards, Lisette, pregnant, is expected to marry her first fiancé and go to Provence (Provenza) with him until after giving birth. She ends up not going and not marrying him (again), but I decided to stay there for inspiration.
Tarte aux blettes is a Provencal dessert made with Swiss chard. While I was not interested in replicating it (we don’t eat dessert), I played with the idea of adding a sweet note to a vegetable I like and eat regularly.
For my first try, I bought a bunch of rainbow chard at the Little Wing Farm stand5 outside Point Reyes Station while I was riding my bicycle. I had planned to stop there, so had a couple of bags in my backpack. The chard was kept in a tub and I didn’t realize until I took up a bunch how big it was, with long colorful stems (which I adore!) and large leaves. When I put it in the backpack, the top stuck out giving me, I am sure, a curious appearance when riding.
At the San Rafael farmers’ market, where I shop when in the Bay Area, some vendors offer slightly blemished or overripe fruit at a discounted price, and I usually get some to add to dishes, like this one. This is the season of stone fruit and I decided to try pairing the chard with white nectarine (pesca noce or nettarina) first. I then tried using a peach (pesca), peeled, and also apricots (albicocche). All the fruit worked well. The sweetness balances the light bitter nuance of chard and the result is a side dish that nods towards dessert without being overly sweet.
1 pound / 450 grams rainbow chard or Swiss chard, stems included, up to 6-7 inches / 15-18 cm (if you have more, save them for another dish: do not discard them)
4 ounces / 112 grams red spring onion
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil OR 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon / 15 grams unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon Harissa spice mix
2 tablespoons / 30 ml warm water if needed
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
4 ounces fruit (e.g., nectarine, peach, apricot), clean weight
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
Separate the chard stems from the leaves and chop the stems. Halve the leaves lengthwise, stack 5-6 at a time and cut them into 1-inch / 2.5-cm wide ribbons.
Warm up a 5-qt cast iron Dutch oven and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, then add the stems and sprinkle the Harissa spice mix and thyme. Stir well and cover. Turn the heat down to medium-low.
Cook for 8 minutes or until the onion is soft, stirring often.
Add the garlic and stir. After 1 minute add the chard. Cover and cook for 1 minute to let the chard wilt, then stir. Cover and cook for another 7 minutes or until the chard is tender.
In the meantime, cut the fruit into 3/4 inch / 2 cm- side cubes. If using a peach, peel it first.
When the chard is almost cooked, add the fruit, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat, sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Transfer to a plate and serve.
Serves 3
A closer look
I like to eat this side dish alongside a more decidedly savory one, like mixed vegetables with thyme6 or the roasted vegetable medley I prepare weekly using zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted corn and garlic.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
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