Harvest Vegetable Tart with Parmesan Crust

This time of year I go a bit crazy at the farmers' market.  There is such an abundance of vegetables that I love that I buy more than even this family of hearty appetites can reasonably consume in a week.  I bounce from vendor to vendor, loading up my bags with goodies that catch my eye or strike the fancy of one of my wee ones.  We do our best to polish them off, but by the end of the week, I often have vegetables left over that I haven't yet used.  And I always want to finish them up so that I can go back to the market and shop some more.  (For those of you in the Silver Spring/Takoma Park area, check out the Wednesday Crossroads market.  It's small but has a good offering of the season's vegetables, and I found it much less expensive than many other markets in the area).

This recipe is perfect for using up those late summer vegetables.  I love it with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes because they all share that delicious summer flavor that goes so well with basil.  You can create endless variations of this recipe, though, according to the tastes of your family or whatever is in your CSA share.

For most of the recipes I post, I try to keep the recipes simple.  But sometimes a more complicated, celebratory recipe is what I want to make.  And eat, of course.  This tart is not a simple weeknight meal.  It takes a couple of hours from beginning to end, but the result is worth it.  It is a special meal to serve as a Sunday supper, share with friends, or celebrate the bounty of the harvest.

This weekend, go out, shop, bring home your own haul, and make this tart! 

Harvest Vegetable Tart with Parmesan Crust

30 minutes preparation time
1 hour 30 minutes cooking time

This recipe calls for the vegetables to be grilled, but if you don't have a grill, you could roast the vegetables instead.  The crust and grilled vegetables can both be prepared ahead and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

for the dough:
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup parmesan
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into about 10 pieces
1/2 cup white wine
1 egg

for the filling:
1 large zucchini, sliced into rounds
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
2 red, yellow, or orange peppers
15 basil leaves
1 fist-sized mozzarella ball, cut into slices
1 medium tomato, sliced thinly
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 egg, lightly beaten

First make the dough:  Combine the flour, salt and parmesan in a large bowl.  Add the butter pieces.  Rub the butter between your fingers and incorporate it into the flour mixture until it varies in size from grains of sand to small pebbles.  Add the wine and egg, and mix with a fork or your hands until the dough comes together.  Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and wrap it in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate the dough until it is firm, at least 1 hour and up to a few days.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables:  First turn the grill on high and let it heat for about 10 minutes.  Toss the zucchini slices in a bowl with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil, and a sprinkle each of salt and pepper.  In another bowl, mix 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil with a few shakes of salt and pepper.  Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the olive oil mixture.

When the grill is hot, place the peppers whole on the back of the grill.  Turn them a few times and cook them until their skin is black and blistered all over, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Arrange the zucchini and eggplant slices evenly over the heat. I set a perforated grill tray (similar to this one) on top of our grill surface to keep the zucchini and smaller eggplant slices from falling through.  Cook the vegetables until they are browned and tender, about 2-3 minutes on each side for the zucchini and 3-5 minutes on each side for the eggplant. 

When the peppers are done, set them aside to cool, and when they are cool enough to handle, peel off their skins.  Slice them open, remove the seeds and cut them lengthwise into strips.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly flour a large baking sheet and roll out the dough on it into a large circle, 12 or more inches.  Leaving a 2- to 3-inch border around the edge, layer the vegetables in this order:  eggplant, zucchini, peppers.  Add the whole basil leaves and then cover with slices of mozzarella.  Layer the tomato slices on top of the mozzarella and sprinkle them with the parmiggiano. 

Fold up the edges of the tart so that they partially cover the tart filling.  Brush the top of the dough with egg.  Bake until the crust is nicely browned, approximately 50 minutes.

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Comments

[Carey]

I'm going to do this later in the season with roasted CSA veg-- fall squash, sweet potato.....

[galugo]

This is one of those cases where the way the food is presented actually makes it taste better. Everyone loves a pie or savory tart. And, it looks very fancy at the dinner table.

[Lisa, Annapolis]

This is the first delicious dish I ever made from your website and tonight it will be center stage once again after a long hiatus! I absolutely love, love, love your website for your loving and insightful words about both food and family/friends. Thank you!