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Tomato Zucchini Tart
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Tomato Zucchini Tart

Tomato Zucchini Tart is hands-down the best tart! Made with cherry tomatoes, zucchini or squash and load sof cheese, it is a culinary heaven.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Baking, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keyword: Bakery, eggless, Quick & Easy
Servings: 9 inch tart

Ingredients

for the pate brisee dough

  • 1¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsalted butter cold & cut into very small cubes
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2-4 tbsp ice water

for the filling

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup packed basil leaves finely chopped
  • ⅓ cup parmesan cheese grated
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1 zucchini sliced
  • 1 yellow squash sliced
  • to taste salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

to prepare the pate brisee dough

  • In a large bowl, mix flour and salt together. Cube the butter into small pieces. Allow flour to chill for 10-15 minutes in freezer along with butter cubes. Remove from freezer and add butter to the flour bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour, until the butter is roughly the size of peas and distributed evenly throughout the flour mixture.
  • Add iced water little by little to the dough, until the dough just starts coming together. Depending on moisture and humidity levels, the amount of water that you may need will change. Turn over the bowl onto a floured surface, Using the tips of your fingers, press the dough together. Cling wrap the dough and allow it to chill in fridge for 1-2 hours or even overnight.
  • Pre-heat oven to 200 °C. Remove the dough from the fridge, lightly flour a work counter and rolling pin - and roll out evenly till it is roughly 12-13” diameter disc. Keep rotating the dough continuously to prevent sticking to the surface. Fold over the disc onto the rolling pin and gently transfer to a 9-inch tart pan (with removable bottom). Carefully press dough into sides and corners (without stretching) and roll the rolling pin over top to remove any excess dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for another 15-20 minutes in the fridge.

to blind bake crust

  • Remove and line tart dough with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. I used kidney beans. Blind-bake for 20 minutes. Remove beans and foil and if bottom still does not look completely dry, bake for an addition 5-10 minutes, checking regularly. Remove and allow to cool on rack.

to prepare the filling

  • In a separate bowl, add basil and olive oil. Add salt and pepper as per taste. Add zucchini, yellow squash and cherry tomatoes to it. Mix in cheese well coating uniformly. Brush the tart shell with olive oil. Spread the filling inside the shell evenly using a spatula or back of a spoon. Now pour the cream on top so that it's uniformly distributed on the tart. Sprinkle some more salt and pepper.
  • Pre-heat oven to 200 °C and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the tomatoes and zucchini are soft and lightly caramelized. Optional (but recommended): Place under the broil for 2-3 minutes to finish! Watch carefully during this step to avoid burning the crust. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  1. The key to a good crust is minimal use of hands while bringing the dough together. So try using forks, knives, food processor or a potato masher to cut in butter and flour together.
  2. You can blind bake and store tart crust for future use. You can even freeze pie dough if need be.
  3. The options of filling in the tart/ pie base are endless. Feel free to substitute and bake up a storm.