Chard & Cheese Pie

Year round with all the greens… and cheese of course

There is rarely a shortage of green leafy vegetables and regardless of the time of year, leaves and shoots are prevalent. Most leaves are seen as trimmings, casually discarded before cooking and this recipe was made for all of those: from carrot tops and beetroot leaves, to kohlrabi and cauliflower leaves. Nothing wasted, everything cherished. 

Personally though, I think this recipe is the domain of chard. Packed full of flavour this almost year round vegetable is a ‘two for one’. The stems bring a delightful crunch and bittersweet flavour, while the leaves have a soft iron rich character that melts into the cheesy filling.

A firm sweet farmhouse cheese with soft sharp nutty goat’s cheese make this pie stand out from the crowd. Living in Oxford I am spoilt for choice with cheese, but for this recipe I use Witheridge in Hay (a hay aged cheddar style cheese, from Nettlebed Creamery) and Brightwell Ash, a soft rich goats’ cheese, from Norton and Yarrow Cheese Co. 

Serves 4

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1kg of greens such as chard
a little rapeseed oil
1 crushed clove garlic
5 spring onions
6 sprigs of young thyme
¼ tsp shaved nutmeg
½ tsp black pepper
1 green cardamom pod
150g soft goats cheese
150g hard mature farmhouse cheddar
 Coarse sea salt
2 beaten eggs
1 pack of filo pastry
120g butter

Preheat oven to 190°C fan or 200°C convection

1. Prepare the chard by roughly separating the leaves into two, the stalk and the leaf. Finely slice the stem, 2-3mm, and cut the leaves into strips about as wide as your finger. 

2. In a large saucepan or frying pan over a medium heat, heat enough rapeseed oil to sparsely cover the base. When the oil begins to shimmer add the stalks and fry for a few minutes until the vegetable becomes translucent around the edges. Add the garlic and leaves, turning up the heat to thoroughly wilt the leaves until they begin to release their water. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in a large mixing bowl.

3. While the chard is cooling, melt the butter.

4. To finish the filling, finely slice the spring onions and roughly chop the thyme. This time of year the thyme is young and tender so use the stems and leaves for a full flavour. Add these to the chard and season with the spices. Crack open the cardamom with the flat of a knife to remove the black seeds and crush them before adding to the filling, discard the pod. 

5. Grate the firm cheese and crumble the goats cheese into the filling. Add salt a few pinches at a time as the cheese may be salty enough on its own. Bring everything together with the beaten egg.

6. In an oven dish that is approximately 20cm by 30cm lightly butter the base and sides. Lay a filo sheet which every way fits the best, folding over any overhang. Brush with melted butter and repeat with half of the pack. 

7. Once half the filo has been layered with butter, spread the filling evenly over the pastry before continuing the layering with the remainder of the pack.

8. Finish with a final brush of butter and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Look for a rich golden brown top few layers and signs of bubbling filling oozing out from the sides. Eat hot or chill and save for a picnic.

Serve with a fresh salad and garlic mayonnaise.


Robin Popham
Chef at ‘Create Terroir’ and Sandy Lane Farm veg box customer