Sorrel is the sour cousin of spinach. We welcome its fresh, citrusy flavor as much as the glowing colors of wildflowers we saw on a recent walk.

This tart let the tangy taste of sorrel stand out among some of our surplus eggs, onion and cheese in one of Steve’s extra-buttery pie crusts. It’s a fairly simple recipe—yet it took all Winter to finally get it done.

SORREL-ONION TART

(adapted from Deborah Madison’s The Greens Cookbook)

• 1 recipe pâte brisée
• 4 TB butter
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 4 oz. sorrel leaves
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 c. crème fraîche
• 1/4 c. milk
• 2 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prebake crust in a 9” tart pan—for 15 minutes weighted down (with aluminum foil filled with dried beans or pie weights) and then for 10 minutes bare.  Remove from oven and cool.

Cook onions in 3 TB of butter, stirring occasionally, until soft.  Add scallions and cook a few minutes more.

While onion is cooking, remove the sorrel stems and slice the leaves into rough ribbons.  Melt remaining 1 TB of butter in a skillet or sauté pan. Add sorrel.  It will quickly cook down to almost nothing and will turn a rather unappetizing color.  Remove from heat.

Whisk eggs, crème fraîche and milk in a bowl.  Add onion mixture, sorrel and half of the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the cooled crust.  Pour filling over.  Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes, until custard is set and colored.