Zucchini-Tomato "Tart" with Herbs and Parmesean

I'm not sure I can call this a tart. But Tart sure does sound cute if not fancy even. I don't have a tart dish. It's on my wish list....cursed wish list. Too much junk, who needs it? Really, other than looking fancy, one does not absolutely have to have a tart dish in order to make a tart of sorts.

In fact, I told my kids we were having zucchini PIE and they were thrilled! It worked out well, I had just a bit of dough left from my main dish and made the kids a " Cute little baby pie." Whatever works. ;-)

So a couple of things I learned when making this pie.

1. The more shallow the pan/dish the better. I ended up having to use twice as many eggs as I wanted to and so it was more like a quiche than a tart. Not to mention it took about an hour to bake instead of 30 minutes. Look how deep my casserole dish is on the bottom of this post. Traditionally, tart pans are pretty shallow, plus they have pretty little ridges. ;-)
2. When rolling out your crust try to get it as thin as you can. Mine was really yummy but pretty thick. So, more like a pie than a dainty tart. I added dried Thyme to my dough while mixing it and it was so wonderful! This was probably the best crust I've ever had! Ever.

adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought

SERVES 6     TIME 15 MIN ACTIVE, 45 MIN BAKE
Ingredients:
Crust

1 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons dried Thyme

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 cup water



Filling

3 zucchini, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese- divided.

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 large Organic eggs

2 tablespoons low-fat milk

Salt and pepper to taste

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Preheat oven to 350F


Putting it all together:
Tart Crust

Spread the oats and sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes. Transfer the toasted oats and sesame seeds to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the flour, thyme, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and process until the oats are finely ground.

In a medium bowl or Mixer, whisk together the water and oil. Mix in the dry ingredients to form a dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Place the dough (folding in thirds if necessary for transfer) into the tart pan. Press it down evenly, making sure to fill in the fluted sides of the pan. Trim the tart of any excess dough. Cover with foil or damp towel and keep refrigerated for 30 minutes.
*save foil so you can cover the tart in the oven if it starts getting to brown




Tart Filling
Thinly slice the tomatoes and zucchini, I used my Kitchen Aide slicer attachment for the zuk.
In a large bowl, combine the zucchini with thyme, basil, salt, cracked pepper and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the zucchini mixture in one layer onto tart crust. Sprinkle a layer of the cheese on top followed by one more layer of zucchini slices. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the second zucchini layer.

Whisk together the eggs and milk, add remaining cheese. Pour egg mixture evenly over the top and let it sink into the tart.

Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.



PRINT THIS RECIPE

Read more ...

Mini Tarts with Cherry-Fig Compote

“I received free samples of Breton Gluten Free Original with Flax and Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic from Dare Foods Incorporated mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Dare Foods Incorporated and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

What do you bring to a last minute dinner party when you have zero desire to go to the store, mostly because it will interrupt your already planned day of being lazy, maybe doing some Pilate's and getting in at least an hour of afternoon pool time. I know, I have it rough. Well, I know we will be having wine during and after dinner so I thought some cute mini tarts filled with a fig-cherry compote would be a fantastic idea. Maybe I'll stop and pick up a bottle of port to go with them.

note to self: don't eat all of the tarts before dinner even though your house smells heavenly.

I can do this.







I've remade these from an older recipe of mine for fig bars using mostly oats and flax for the crust. This time I tried using Breton's Gluten Free Crackers with Flax for half of the mixture and they turned out great. Don't look at me like that, I had to try one.... o.k. two you know, just to make sure they were blog and dinner party worthy. The things I do for you people!

Compote (French for "mixture") is a dessert originating from 17th-century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit, or raisins.  

The French invented compote believing that fruit cooked in sugar syrup balanced the effects of humidity on the body. The name is derived from the French word compote, meaning mixture. Compote was originally served as an afternoon snack with sour cream and biscuits. During the Renaissance, it was served chilled at the end of dinner. 

Pulse the oats and Breton Gluten Free Flax crackers into a flour.

Snip the little stems off of the figs.

Coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a small spoon, scoop a small amount of the dough into the muffin tin pressing down with your fingers to form a hole in the center, leaving some dough on the bottom and up around the edges of each cup.

Mini Tarts with Cherry-Fig Compote

Mini Tarts with Cherry-Fig Compote

TIME     30 MINUTES       YIELDS    12 MINI TARTS

Filling:


6 ounces dried Figs (preferably Organic)

4 ounces dried Apricots OR dried Cherries (preferably Organic)

2 tbsp. chopped almonds

2 drops anise extract (optional)

1 tbsp  local, Organic honey (local honey help with outdoor allergies!) 

2 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. orange juice OR lemon juice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger


Snip off the figs' stems, and put them, the apricots, almonds, water, honey and spices into the food processor. Pulse to a coarse paste. Spoon out of food processor and set aside in a small bowl.

Crust:

1 cup regular or quick oats 

1/2 cup whole oats

12 Breton's Gluten Free Crackers with Flax

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces unsweetened apple sauce

1 tablespoon local, Organic honey

1/3 cup water

Directions: 

 Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well to a thick consistency.

Place 1 cup of  oats and the crackers into your food processor or blender. Pulse until you have a flour.  

Coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a small spoon, scoop a small amount of the dough into the muffin tin pressing down with your fingers to form a hole in the center, leaving some dough on the bottom and up around the edges of each cup.
Spoon the fig mixture into each cup. 

Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes until crust is golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack before removing tarts. Serve warm or at room temperature with afternoon tea or with wine for dessert. 

Now, off to quickly fold some laundry, if that's possible with the amount of laundry we have in this joint. Second thought, forget the laundry. Off to do 45 minutes of Pilate's which brings me to my happy place and then go sit by the pool.


Have a great weekend my friends!






   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Read more ...