The slightly bitter greens turn nearly sweet during baking, and that sweetness is set off by the salty olives and piquant ricotta salata. If you can’t find ricotta salata, you can use small chunks of a good brand of feta.
6 SERVINGS
2 |
tablespoons olive oil |
3 |
cloves garlic, minced |
½ |
pound mixed leafy greens without stems (mustard, kale, collard, beet, turnip and chard), finely chopped |
1 |
15-ounce container ricotta |
¼ |
cup chopped, pitted brined black olives, such as Kalamata |
|
Salt |
2 |
large eggs |
|
Pastry for a 9-inch tart (see recipe) |
2 |
ounces ricotta salata |
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil and garlic in a soup pot over medium heat until the garlic softens, about 3 minutes. Add the greens and cook, stirring, until they soften, about 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat together the ricotta, cooked greens, chopped olives and ¾ teaspoon salt. Taste the mixture; it should be highly seasoned. Add a little more salt, if necessary. Beat in the eggs.
Line a 9-inch tart pan with the pastry. Pour the filling into the pastry and shave the ricotta salata over the top. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the center is no longer moist, 30 to 40 minutes. If you use red chard leaves, don’t be fooled by what may look at first glance like quick browning; it is the color of the chard leaking through.
Let cool slightly to set up before serving.