Tarte de blettes is the Nicois sweet Swiss chard tart with raisins, pine nuts and a dusting of sugar, the regional dessert that surprises visitors with its vegetable filling.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Tarte de blettes is the Nicois sweet version of the Swiss chard tart, an old country dessert that combines chard greens with raisins, pine nuts, sugar and sometimes apples in a sweet pastry shell. The Cuisine Nissarde label specifies the chard variety, the pine nut topping and the icing sugar dusting. Lou Balico is the canonical lunch address for the dessert.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Tree nuts
Tip from the editors. The parmesan is canonical in the Nicois version; it adds a savoury edge that makes the dessert read as something between cake and quiche.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Lou Balico on Avenue Saint Jean Baptiste has cooked the Nicois family canon since 1979, the Cuisine Nissarde label across stockfish, homemade ravioli and the sweet chard tart.
Signature: Stockfish, Homemade ravioli, Tarte de blettes
Order: The homemade ravioli with daube sauce and the tarte de blettes for dessert.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday evenings. Generous portions; doggie bags accepted.
Why locals love it: Family Nicois room on Rue Droite since the close of the First World War, four generations and a single lunch sitting under the family name.
Tip: Book by phone several days ahead for the lunch service; closed Saturday and Sunday.
Why locals love it: No telephone, cash only, two sittings, books in person at the door earlier the same day for the lunch service in Vieux Nice.
Tip: Arrive in person at 11:00 or 18:00 to write your name on the booking sheet for the same day's service.
Why locals love it: Bellet wine bar with the world petits farcis championship, four generations of Gazan family running the Vieux Nice room since 1947.
Tip: Champ runs every autumn at the granite counter; book a stool the same morning.
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