I'm back! Santa brought me a new camera so now my food photos should look even more irresistible! After the holiday season of eating and drinking to my stomach's content, I like to get back on track with a extremely healthy menu. On this week's menu was this veggie tart, couscous-stuffed chicken breast, and vegetable lasagna.
A very generous friend (and perhaps a fan of my cooking) bought me a book called Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi which contains nothing but vegetable recipes. Many of them are very creative and caught me off guard, such as roasted eggplant topped with buttermilk sauce and pomegranate seeds, or pumpkin souffle. This book will definitely come in handy when our CSA delivery provides more eggplant than I know what to do with!
The first recipe I chose from this book is called "Very Full Tart" which is not an understatement because the veggies were overflowing so much that I barely had room in which to stuff the cream sauce and cheeses. The recipe called for a 9 inch loose-bottomed tart pan which I do not have, so I purchased a pre-made frozen crust and used that. I'm sure it tasted the same but my version took much longer to cook probably due to being thicker than a tart. It took about double the time! However, my oven always seems to take much longer for these types of dishes. I would say start with 45 minutes as the recipe states, then check it every 10 minutes until the sauce in the middle is set. To make the recipe even healthier, I substituted 2% milk for heavy cream and light instead of full-fat ricotta.
REVIEW: This tart was delicious and hearty enough for a main dish. I think roasted vegetables have the best flavor. The feta added saltiness and interest to what might otherwise have been a bland sauce.
RECIPE:
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium eggplant, diced 1" pieces
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced 1" pieces
1 small zucchini, diced 1" pieces
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
pie crust dough or pre-made crust
8 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
1/3 cup light ricotta
4 1/4 oz feta
7 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 eggs
1 cup 2% milk
olive oil
salt & pepper
Thaw pie crust and pre-bake according to the package directions. Don't overcook or it will be crumbly! If you choose to use pie dough, for this part you're on your own. I assume it would need to be pre-baked as well but I know nothing about that process!
Preheat oven to 450F. Remove stem and seeds from bell peppers, place into glass dish, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Put peppers on the top shelf of the oven to roast for 12 minutes. Mix eggplant pieces in a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread eggplant plus diced sweet potato onto a large baking pan and put into oven below the peppers to roast for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, spread the zucchini onto another baking sheet and put on a third shelf in the oven. This all sounds complicated, but basically the bell peppers roast the longest - those should be browned and crackly on the skin when done, then the eggplant and sweet potato the second-longest, then finally the zucchini needs the shortest roasting time. Keep an eye on all the veggies while cooking to make sure they can be easily pierced with a fork without being blackened.
While the vegetables are roasting, heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Saute onions with bay leaves and a dash of salt for 25 minutes until they are brown and caramelized. Remove from heat.
When all vegetables are roasted, reduce oven temp to 325F. Cover the bell peppers and allow them to steam and cool, then peel them. I prefer the Bobby Flay method of flattening out the pepper and using a small knife to scrape off the crispy skin leaving the soft flesh. Slice peppers into thin strips.
Spread caramelized onion on the bottom of the pre-baked crust. Spread all other vegetables over onion until the crust is full. Sprinkle half of the thyme leaves over the vegetables. Place chunks of feta and ricotta anywhere that can be filled in between the veggies. Scatter the tomato halves cut side up.
Whisk eggs and milk in a small bowl with a bit of salt and pepper. Pour mixture into the crust without overflowing or covering the top layer of vegetables. Sprinkle the rest of the thyme leaves on top.
Place pan in the oven (recommend to put it on a baking sheet to prevent spills) and bake for a minimum of 45 minutes. The filling needs to set and should be a golden brown when done. Allow tart to cool at least 10 minutes prior to cutting. Enjoy!
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