A torta that’s powerfully green
New Lucky Peach cookbook features recipes that pack an international punch
If you’ve ever scanned a copy of Lucky Peach, you’ll know the food magazine is edgy and a little strange. There’s an entire section of the website dedicated to “Edible Trump,” which is a how-to guide for turning steak, candy or raw fish into the likeness of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. There’s a lot of swearing. There are also, of course, food features, chef profiles, city guides and recipes.
A newly released Lucky Peach cookbook, $47, is “98 per cent fun and 2 per cent stupid,” in keeping with the original tone and ethos of the publication, which is affiliated with Momofuku’s David Chang. The book: Lucky Peach Presents Power Vegetables! includes meatfree — though not always vegetarian — recipes for mains, apps, dips, salads, soups and breads from the editors of Lucky Peach magazine. Most are international in flavour. Editor Peter Meehan wanted to make vegetables exciting, even for people who are bacon-addicted. That means, apparently, saying no to pasta dishes (too many carbs); no to grain bowls (too ubiquitous); yes to fish and dairy (omnivores are cool) and yes to fruits (tomatoes are sort of like vegetables). The quote: A power vegetable, according to an interview in the book with chef Chang, “has a balance of salty, sweet, sour, acid, some type of sweetness and sour and texture. Texture is huge. No bitterness. Everything else is just California cuisine.” The tester: I haven’t eaten meat in a decade, except for the many times I’ve cheated. I can vouch for the fact there are only so many grain bowls a vegetarian can eat. Recipes I’m dying to make: Caponata, Corporate Juice Bar Kale Salad, Tomato Pie, Hannah’s Borscht, Malfati in Brown Butter with Sage, Potato Rosemary Bread
Torta di Erbe
Star Tested This tart is made with just six ingredients, most of which even a casual cook is likely to have on hand. It tastes as healthy and earthy as you might imagine four bunches of red and green Swiss chard to taste. It will look like a lot of chard at first, but the greens cook down to a fraction of their size.
Olive oil dough
1/3 cup (80 mL) water 1/4 cup (60 mL) olive oil 1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt 1-1/2 cups (350 mL) all-purpose flour
Filling
4 large bunches of Swiss chard, stems removed Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil, plus more for pie pan 1cup (250 mL) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated For dough, in a medium bowl, add water, olive oil and salt. Stir to dissolve salt. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing with a fork until combined. When too stiff to stir, knead into a ball. Transfer to a clean, dry surface and knead until smooth, about 5minutes. Wrap in plastic. Let dough rest at room temperature for one hour.
For the filling, in a large pot of water over medium-high heat, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Blanch chard until bright green and tender, about 3 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Drain and rinse chard under cold water. Squeeze chard using hands to remove excess water. Wrap in clean paper towel and wring to dry, removing as much water as possible. Chop dried chard into medium-size pieces.
In a medium bowl, add chard. Dress with salt, pepper and oil. Mix in cheese, tossing like a salad to coat greens.
Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet, inverted, on the middle rack of a cool oven. Heat to 500 F (260 C).
Coat the bottom of a10-inch pie pan with a few drops of olive oil. Unwrap dough and cut in half. Roll one ball out on a clean surface until large enough to drape over pie pan with generous overhang.
Spread chard mixture evenly over bottom dough layer. Stretch other dough ball as with pizza dough, by pushing the dough ball out from the centre using hands until large enough to cover pie pan. Drape over chard mixture and press edges to seal. Rip a few small holes to allow steam to escape. Brush a few drops of oil over dough top.
Bake on pizza stone or inverted baking sheet at 500 F (260 C) until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly on wire rack before serving.
Makes 8 slices.