Chestnut And Apple Casserole With Swiss Chard And Cranberry Granola Recipes

SWISS CHARD AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Arrange the rack in the middle of oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
• Stem the chard, keeping the leaves whole. Salt the boiling water and add the chard and let wilt. The pot will be packed at first. Boil the chard 10 minutes, drain in a colander and run under cool water. Let it drain and squeeze out any excess liquid in a clean kitchen towel. Chop.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, and then whisk in the milk. Season with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Stir in the roasted garlic paste. Thicken the sauce to coat the back of a spoon and adjust seasonings to taste.
• Layer half the greens in a medium casserole (8 to 10 inches long). Top with half the bechamel sauce and half the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Bake until bubbly and brown, 20 to 30.

CHESTNUT AND APPLE CASSEROLE WITH SWISS CHARD AND CRANBERRY GRANOLA

Steps:

• Make the cranberry granola. Toast nuts and oats on a cookie sheet in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven until golden brown. Allow to cool and coarsely chop.
• Cut dried cranberries into small pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine cranberries, parsley, thyme leaves, lemon zest and juice, garlic, cayenne pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add nuts and oats. Spread mixture on a cookie sheet and bake in 250 degree oven for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the casserole. In a sauté pan, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter until the butter is golden brown. Add frozen chestnuts and roast for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups vegetable stock, and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until tender and the chestnuts have absorbed most of the liquid
• Peel and core apples and cut each into four pieces. In a sauté pan, heat remaining butter and sauté apples until lightly caramelized.
• Cut green leaves from the Swiss chard, wash and reserve. Peel white skin off of the Swiss chard stems and keep stems in water with lemon juice. Cut stems in strips and sauté stems and leaves with most of remaining olive oil. Cover with remaining 2 cups vegetable stock and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
• Peel onions, season with salt and pepper to taste and place in sauté pan. Add water until onions are just covered. Cook until the onions are tender and all of the liquid has been absorbed.
• in a pot, combine chestnuts, apples, Swiss chard, pearl onions and remaining cooking liquids. Heat and check seasonings. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve in a bowl topped with cranberry granola.

APPLE AND SWISS CHARD PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Place butter, salt and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix at the slowest speed for 30 seconds. Add flour and mix at the slowest speed until well combined. Add vodka and 3 tablespoons water and mix only until dough comes together; add more water as needed. Do not overmix. The dough should be completely homogenized and will feel slightly tacky.
• Scrape mixture out onto a work surface. Weigh and divide into two uneven pieces, one 2/3 of the total weight and the other 1/3 of the total weight. Flatten to about 1/2-inch thick, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.
• Lightly butter a 9- to 9 1/2-inch tart pan or pie dish. Roll out the larger piece of the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pan, allowing edges of dough to hang over sides. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least one hour.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Place raisins in a bowl and cover with rum. Leave for 20 minutes or longer.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Adjust oven rack so it is in the lower third of the oven.
• Wash the greens. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add the still-wet chard a handful at a time. Stir until greens collapse, then add another handful. Add a generous pinch of salt and continue until all greens have wilted. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cold water. Take up handfuls of chard and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside. You should have 1 generous cup chopped chard.
• Place sliced apples in a large bowl and toss with brown sugar. Drain raisins and discard rum.
• In another large bowl, beat eggs. Remove 2 tablespoons for brushing the crust and set aside in a small bowl or ramekin. Add a pinch of salt to the eggs in the large bowl, and stir in chard, apples, raisins, pine nuts, powdered sugar and cheese.
• Remove lined pan and remaining dough from refrigerator. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, until the edges of the dough in the pan are pliable. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork, leaving about an inch between the rows. Brush lightly with beaten egg. Scrape in chard and apple filling.
• Roll out remaining dough and place on top of filling. Join the edges of the top and bottom pastry and pinch together to form an attractive lip. Make a few slits in top of dough and place pan on a baking sheet. Brush the top generously with reserved egg. If there are any spare pieces of dough, shape into little balls to decorate the top crust.
• Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake another 40 to 45 minutes, until nicely browned. (If edges are browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil after 30 minutes.)
• Allow to cool completely, which will take a couple of hours. The pie can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.

CHESTNUT APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a chestnut knife or a small paring knife, make an incision about 1/8 inch deep through the shell and into the flesh of each chestnut almost all the way around the circumference of the nut. Transfer to a chestnut pan or rimmed baking pan. Roast in the oven until the chestnuts are tender, about 35 minutes.Turn the oven off. Leaving the pan with the chestnuts in the oven, remove several at a time.Working quickly, place 1 chestnut in a towel. Holding both, peel chestnut while still hot. Remove and discard the shells and inner skin.Transfer chestnuts to a medium saucepan. Heat oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Add 4 cups water and 1/2 cup sugar to the chestnuts; place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer chestnuts until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the chestnuts are falling-apart tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Drain in a colander. Break chestnuts into small pieces, and set aside to cool.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the oil and remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and mix on medium-low speed until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, and mix until the dough is smooth and shiny without sticking to your fingers when squeezed, about 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a clean surface, and knead into a ball. Cover dough with a bowl, and let stand at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the apples and 1/4 cup sugar, and cook, stirring frequently, until just tender and golden on the edges, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer apples to a shallow bowl, and set aside until cool. Repeat cooking the remaining half of the apples in 3 tablespoons butter with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
• Place bread in a food processor; pulse until texture resembles coarse meal. Add bread crumbs to reserved apples, along with the reserved chestnuts, nutmeg, cinnamon, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine well; set aside.
• Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Brush a baking sheet with melted butter, and set the remaining butter aside. Place a clean sheet or a very large apron on a clean surface about 36 inches square, and sprinkle with flour. Place the dough in the center, and roll into a 12-inch square. Cover dough with a damp towel, and let stand for 15 minutes. Remove the towel and slide both hands, palms down, under the dough. Lift dough, and begin stretching until it becomes too big to stretch on top of hands. Carefully set the dough back down on the cloth, making sure to spread the dough out without any wrinkles. Begin to pull the dough out in all directions, maintaining the square shape, until it is almost translucent and about 36 inches square.
• Using a sharp knife or scissors, trim about 1/2 inch of the thicker edges off. The dough that remains should be only the very thinnest dough. Gently brush the butter evenly all over the dough, and arrange the apple-chestnut mixture on top, leaving a 1-inch border.
• Lift the front edges of the cloth off the table, and flip the dough and apple-chestnut mixture over onto itself, enclosing the mixture.This first fold should be 3 to 4 inches wide. Continue folding the dough in this manner using the cloth until dough is completely rolled up and has the final edge on top. Carefully form dough into a C shape. Place the prepared baking sheet right next to the strudel, and flip strudel over onto the prepared baking sheet so that the top now becomes the bottom. Brush with butter, and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer baking sheet to a wire rack, and let stand until strudel is warm or at room temperature.

CHARD AND SWEET CORN GRATIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin.
• Blanch chard: Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem and wash the chard leaves. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add chard leaves. (Set aside stems for another use, or discard.) Blanch 1 to 2 minutes, until tender but still bright. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain thoroughly and squeeze out excess water; chop medium-fine.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet and add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, then stir in rosemary, thyme and chopped blanched chard. Season with salt and pepper and stir over medium heat until chard is nicely coated with oil, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in chard mixture and Gruyère. Stir in corn and mix well. Scrape into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan over top and drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until nicely browned on the top and sides. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

BUTTERNUT APPLE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a 6-qt. stockpot, bring 1 in. of water to a boil. Add squash; cook, covered, 5 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Drain., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add apples and cooked squash; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar and cinnamon; stir in syrup. Cut in butter until crumbly; sprinkle over casserole. Bake, uncovered, 50-60 minutes or until squash is tender, sprinkling with pecans during the last 10 minutes.

CASSEROLE OF SWISS CHARD AND GRUYERE

Steps:

• Rinse the swiss chard, drain it and chop it fine.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onion, saute over medium heat until tender but not brown, then stir in the garlic. Add the scallions and tomatoes, then add the chopped swiss chard. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the swiss chard has wilted.
• Remove from heat, stir in all but two tablespoons of the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spoon the swiss chard mixture into a one-quart casserole. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for about 30 minutes, then serve.