You know that summer has truly left the room when your mind – and your farmer’s market, and every social media feed known to man – turns from tomatoes to kale. And even if here in Rome the warm weather is still hanging on, the cool nights and shorter days mean that the fall vegetables that grow in the surrounding countryside are filling my basket
If you think this is yet one more post about kale, it’s not. Or, well, not exactly. I have to say the entire kale thing has never really hit here. We certainly have cabbage, but the closest thing to the curly leafed kale that seems to have taken over the United States that we have here is cavolo nero.
The dark green leaves of cavolo nero used to be pretty much confined to Tuscany. And 20 years ago, when we first started our garden up in Todi, I would have to start the plants from seeds, because no local nursery in Umbria was carrying the plants. And it was not until about 10 years ago or so that cavolo nero began turning up regularly in markets here in Rome.
But now it’s just about everywhere and I was very happy to see huge bunches of it last weekend. It even sort of made up for my tomato withdrawal. Although I could have made soup or salad, for some reason I had savory tarts on my mind.
So while Gillian did the drudge work of stripping the tender leaves off the tough stems, I pulled together a crust.
I definitely didn’t want any kind of quiche thing going on, but something much more hearty. So the cavolo nero got sauteed along with a good amount of pancetta and some potatoes to give it bulk and hold it all together. No eggs. No cheese. Not even an onion.
That’s it. If you’re thinking it sounds a bit plain and boring, it was anything but. That is due to the insane amount of butter in the wholewheat crust. Who knew that butter and cavolo nero could pair so well? Well, I should have. Butter makes everything better, right? Especially even kale.
cavolo nero tart
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8
I used cavolo nero, or Tuscan Kale, But if you can’t find it, you can go ahead and use regular kale. I served this as the main course, at lunch, but it could work well as a first course too. And if you don't want to use pancetta, you could make a vegetarian version of it with grated parmesan added at the end.
Ingredients
- 1 ten inch tart pan with removable bottom
- filling
- 1 1/2 kilos / 3 pounds cavolo nero
- 1 cup pancetta, cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1/2 pieces.
- salt pepper
Instructions
- Strip the cavolo nero leaves off the tough stems and chop.
- Pour olive oil in a large frying pan. Heat over medium and add the pancetta. Let it cook until it has given up its fat and is beginning to get crispy.
- Using a slotted spoon, scoop up the cubes of pancetta and set in a small dish.
- Put the cavolo nero into the pan, along with some salt and pepper. Add about a half cup of water and cook until the leaves are wilted. Add the potatoes and continue cooking. It may take about a half hour for the cavolo nero to get tender, and you may have to add a bit more water. When everything is almost done and the potatoes are beginning to fall apart, add the pancetta back in and cook for another ten minutes. At the end, let any water you have added cook away.
- Preheat oven to 180c/ 350F
- Roll out the first piece of dough to a 12 inch circle on a floured board.. Gently pick it up and place it in the tart pan. If part of it rips, don’t worry, just patch it up. Let the extra hang over the edge.
- Mound the filling into the center of the bottom crust, spreading it out evenly.
- Roll out the second piece of dough and place it over the top. Crimp the edges shut, cutting off any excess. Using a sharp knife, cut four holes in the top crust to let the steam come out.
- Place in oven and bake until golden, about 45 minutes.
- Take out of oven and let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes. Gently remove from pan and place on platter to serve.
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tart crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 280 grams / 20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Place flour and salt in a food processor and process briefly to combine. Add the cold butter, cut up in to pieces. P
- Pulse on and off until it is just combined, and forms small pea shapes. Don’t over blend.
- Add both egg yolks and pulse again.
- With the motor running, add the cold water, 1 spoonful at a time. Stop the machine when the dough comes together.
- Take out the dough, divide in half and form two disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
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This looks wonderful and I am dying to make it, notwithstanding our inability to find kale in Puglia. We’ll figure it out. I noticed that some of the measurements in the ingredient list are truncated at the beginning so that it isn’t clear how much flour, water, etc. is needed for the tart crust. I could figure that out, too, but I wanted to let you know in case you hadn’t seen it. Or maybe it’s just my laptop . . . Thanks for posting. Lovely as always.
You can’t get cavolo nero in Puglia? I think you must by now. They definitely have it in Bari.
It must be your laptop, since I just checked and all ok.
I am so looking forward to making this for dinner this evening, but am a bit confused about the Tart ingredients. Steps 7 and 8 read as “/4 cup” (not sure if it’s 1/4 cup which doesn’t sound like enough) and know that it’s not 4 cups, that would be too much, and Step 9 reads as “grams/20 tablespoons” which seems a bit excessive. Can you check it and help? Thank you!
Sorry. Technical difficulties! All fixed now.
I also cannot see how much of several ingredients: this is how it looks:
/4 cup flour
/4 cup whole wheat flour
grams / 20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
tsp salt
egg yolks
tablespoons ice water
Can you help? Thanks so much! I want to make this!
all fixed now. Sorry!
see above
I have the same issue with flour amounts-all I see is a /4 cup for each one.
Actually not. I have the same problem – truncated measurements, and I really want to try this even though it will have to be with (also hard to find here in Paris) regular Kale.
“For the tart crust:
tart crust
/4 cup flour
/4 cup whole wheat flour
grams / 20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
tsp salt
egg yolks”
Sorry!!! I think I fixed it! Although, the original fault with this post was due to hitting a button before having enough coffee. And now it’s a matter of having had a cocktail. Hope it works now!
I remember seeing cavolo nero in gardens when I was traveling in the Tuscany area in the mid-90’s. I always wondered what it was all the while I was wondering what the green stuff was in ribollita. It took me a while to put the two together. I grew it one time but the aphids were a little too happy to have it so close to hand.
Here in the states cavolo nero is often called lacinato. Is that a correct labeling?
Yes, it’s called Lacinato in the States. I’m not sure where the word comes from since it’s not called that in Italy. I think it’s getting easier to find there too?
Yes, I’ve been buying it for years in Portland, Oregon. I don’t know about my friends in Kingman, AZ having access to it.
I live in Saint Paul (MN) and Lacinato kale can be found at Whole Foods, and the various Co-ops, as well as other large supermarkets. Easy to find plants in the spring at the farmer’s market, and at a swell store called Egg/Plant in Saint Paul. My plants are still growing away, and I am eager to make the tart. Thanks!
Really? There’s a store called Egg/Plant? Do tell!
Cavolo Nero is the only way to go, in my opinion. I remember that I had to smuggle seeds out of Italy in ’07 because they weren’t available here and now…a quick trip to the nursery and there are the plants! I put in 12 plants this year. Love that they carry on through winter and into spring too…I make a mean braised kale with pancett,a a great side with pork or poultry! Over here fads come and go (like the kale thingy right now), they even eat kale all year for heavens sake…I always think of kale as a fall/’winter thing…is it just me???
Absolutely it’s a fall / winter thing. And there is a huge taste difference between the early season cavolo nero and the late season, which has had the benefit of surviving a frost or two. The later is much sweeter and has a completely different taste.
That is true of curly kale as well. I much prefer cavolo nero; it does have some pleasant bitterness but I find curly kale too bitter and too tough unless it has been kissed by frost. It is common in the Netherlands and some parts of Germany – northern. The Dutch would never think of eating it in their summer, even though the weather is often cool.
I’m going to make a cavolo nero tart today, but not the same as yours; it will contain ewe’s milk ricotta and a bit of egg, but much less than a quiche. I’ve often had tarts similar to yours, but usually with chard.
Thanks, Elizabeth! The recipe’s ingredients looks good now. But still 20T of butter!?! I’ll take a Lipitor and run a 10K before I eat this one! 😉 Sounds sumptuous!
Yes! I know it sounds like a lot, but you’re making two crusts, a top and a bottom, so it works out just like any pie crust.
Thanks for fixing the quantity issue in the ingredient list. Nope, no kale in sleepy Martina Franca and environs. But plenty of other greens in general, even the Greek-ish amaranth leaves. Will have a go with what we’ve got here. Thanks again!
Yum, this looks SO good. I wish this was my lunch instead of boring black bean salad. And… maybe I’m being a butter apologist here, but it doesn’t seem like THAT much butter… for a double crust?
Well, exactly! A totally normal amount of butter, right?