This recipe may sound odd but the end result is fantastic. The combination of the swiss chard, apples, raisins, pine nuts and pastry cream is fantastic. It is worth giving it a try!

Filling
½ cup raisins
2 tbsp. dark rum
12 ounces swiss chard (note: this is just a bit more than the pkg. of spinach you see in grocery stores)
2 cups pastry cream
2 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼ inch pieces
1/3 cup pine nuts (or chopped walnuts)
one recipe tart dough
garnish, dusting of icing sugar

Soak raisins with rum for a few hours or overnight to plump up. Or simply cover with a bit of hot water for 10-15 minutes to plump up. Drain raisins when plump.

Pastry Cream
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, split
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
1/3 cup (40 grams) cornstarch
6 egg yolks
2 tbsp. unsalted butter (28 grams)

This recipe is best in a tart pan 14 ¾ x 4 ½ inch. Since most do not have that, either take a 14 ¾ x 9 inch baking sheet or square pan and with the larger baking sheet use tinfoil to separate the baking sheet in half. Or simply double the recipe to make a whole sheet pan. A 9 or 10 inch round tart pan with removable bottom is also good.

On a lightly floured work surface roll out half of the dough to 17 x 7. Gently lift the dough into the tart pan and press the dough into the pan and roll the pin over the top of the pan to remove the excess dough. Prick the bottom of the tart shell with a fork. Place the tart shell in the fridge or freezer to set.

Roll out the remainder of the dough just enough to cover the top of the tart shell and make sure that it is about ¼ inch thin. Transfer to a cutting board or baking sheet just large enough to hold it and place in only the fridge until ready to use.

To partially bake the tart shell, preheat oven to 350-375F. Ensure that the tart shell is well chilled. Putting the tart shell in the freezer for 15 minutes or so ensures that it will stay set. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the tart shell is just set and has little colour (very lightly golden brown).

To make the filling, remove the tougher chard stems and blanch the chard in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain well, let cool and the squeeze out as much water as you can. Coarsely chop the chard. You will be left with about ¾ - 1 cup of cooked chard.

Place pastry cream in a bowl and add the diced apples, raisins, chard and pine nuts. Transfer the filling to the partially baked tart shell and spread it evenly with a spatula. Depending on the tart shell being used you may have just a bit left over. Cover the filling with the refrigerated dough for the top. Make a few slits in the top of the dough to let out steam as it bakes. Bake the tart for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool before slicing. Garnish the tart with a dusting of icing sugar, portion and serve. It goes nicely just warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. The tart stays fresh for 2 days kept refrigerated.

In a saucepan, place milk, scraped vanilla gum and split pod. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let vanilla flavour infuse for 10-15 minutes.

Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Place yolks in a medium sized bowl (large enough to hold all of the heated milk). Add the sugar mixture and mix until well combined and pale in colour. Remove the split vanilla pod and gradually pour a half of the warmed milk into the yolk mixture constantly whisking. This is called tempering, where it helps the egg mixture mix with a heated mixture but not cook or scramble the eggs. Add this mixture back to the rest of the warmed milk and stir to combine well. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens (about 3-5 mins or so)and almost comes to a boil. It is important to whisk constantly as it may stick to the bottom. Once thicken, remove from the heat and add the butter in mixing until it is completely melted and well mixed into the mixture.
Scrape pastry cream into a medium bowl and cover with cling film so that a ‘skin’ does not form. You can put the vanilla bean back in for more flavour but remove before using. The pastry cream can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in the fridge. If you do not have a vanilla bean use 1 tsp of vanilla extract but only added with the butter.

Sift icing sugar, flour and salt together in a bowl. Place the butter in a food processor or mixer and process until smooth. Scatter the flour, in two stages over the butter just lightly mixing. Add the egg and mix just until the dough forms a mass but is homogeneous (there should be no lumps of butter or flour separate from the mixture). Divide into two and shape each into a disc, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for about 1-2 hours before using or until it is soft enough. The dough can be made a few days in advance or kept frozen for up to a month.