Spinach and chard tart

Among the various Italian regional cuisines, that of Emilia is certainly one of the most flavourful, full of fragrance and colour, thanks in no small part to the incredible fertility of the land in this part of Italy. Here, the art of eating well is communicated down the generations, respecting the traditions whilst at the same time offering the occasional interesting innovation. The recipe we have for you today is one of those dishes that are an integral part of that regional culinary heritage, a compelling reason to choose this region as an ideal destination for those who love the good life, eating really good quality and authentic food, made without pretention, but always relying on the excellent quality of the raw material: a spinach and chard tart known as ‘erbazzone’. However, to give a touch of originality to our recipe we decided to prepare a variant with a tasty and fragrant pastry crust, which makes it even more compelling: are you ready to try it?

Prepare the shortcrust pastry as per our recipe elsewhere on this website. While it’s resting in the fridge, prepare the spinach and chard and boil them for 5 minutes, then drain well! Coarsely chop the onions, garlic and parsley and blend together with the cooked and drained greens. In a bowl, add the parmesan cheese to the puréed vegetables, then add the nutmeg, salt, pepper and lard. Use a blender or food mixer to blend everything together well. Divide the pastry into two and roll them out into two circles, one larger and one smaller. With the larger one, lay it out on a baking tray where you will cook the tart, then fill with the blended mixture. Use the smaller one to cover the contents and then seal the edges with any leftover dough. Prick the entire surface with a fork, brush with egg yolk and bake for 30 minutes at 200°C.