Swiss Chard and Bacon Tartelettes

Once again, we purchased Swiss chard at the market. And once again, I scratched my head to find a new way to serve it to my children (I know, I owe you the Swiss Chard Gratin Recipe!!). I came up with this idea of an individual savory tartelette, a variation from the traditional Quiche Lorraine that is ubiquitous in French families. French eat a lot of quiches. It used to be served as an appetizer. Lately, it has become more common to eat one slice of quiche with a serving of salad for lunch or dinner. This makes an easy, relatively healthy entree. Like everybody else, my children love having their own individual tartelette dish. It makes it more fun for them to eat... As a result, I have tried, when possible, to individualize their portion that way so that they would eat it all without balking. Since Swiss chard can be a little tart, I added bacon because, like my husband would say, "everything tastes better with bacon". Right. Bon Appétit!


Ingredients (serves 6 3-inch Tartelettes)

For the dough:
- 1 1/4 cup (160g) of All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 Tbs butter (70gr), cold and diced
- 3 or 4 Tbs ice cold water

• Mix in the flour and the salt
• Add the butter and use a fork or a pastry cutter to make small pea-size pieces
• Pour 2 Tbs of water and mix in
• Pour the remaining of water, one tablespoon at a time
• Use your hand to make a ball with the dough, being careful not to work the dough too much
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes
• Butter and flour 6 individual tartelette dishes.
  
• Roll the dough onto a floured surface and work it by hand from the center to make a 9-inch circle
• Cut 6 Tartelettes and press the dough into the individual dishes
• Refrigerate while you prepare the filling
  

 For the Filling:
- 3 slices of bacon, cut in small pieces
- 1 bunch of Swiss chard, cut into tiny pieces
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- 1 cup (80g) shredded Swiss cheese
- Salt and black pepper

• Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C)
  
• In a skillet, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat. When cooked, take them out.
• Disregard most of the bacon fat so that the skillet is still coated with a thin layer of fat
  
• Add the Swiss chard to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes in the bacon fat. You want the chard to get rid of their raw edge but they have to remain "al dente".
  
• In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper together
• Divide the bacon and Swiss chard evenly among the Tartelettes dishes. Place them on a baking sheet.
  
• Pour in the batter
• Cover with shredded cheese
• Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Let cool before unmolding and serving
  

My personal comments:

• You could make a 9-inch Tarte with the recipe. It would cook a little bit longer than the individual tartelettes
  
• I used Tartelette's dough recipe for Pate Brisée. I found it easy to make and very good.