Vegetable Tart

I have a thing for vegetable slices arranged in an attractive layer. This tart was published in the Light and Healthy issue of America's Test Kitchen. We have tried several recipes from this magazine, to much satisfaction. The crust of this ended up being very delicate - probably because it used olive oil instead of butter. In the future, I may just substitute the crust for my favorite pastry dough.


Vegetable Tart
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen,
Light and Healthy issue

Crust:
1 ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
¼ c ice water
½ c fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Filling:
1 small zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
3 plum tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
½ c part-skim ricotta cheese
2 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil

For the crust:
Process the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Drizzle the in the oil and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse grains. Add 3 Tbs of ice water and continue to process until large clumps of dough form. If the dough doesn’t clump, add the remaining tablespoon of water and pulse to incorporate.

Press the dough into the bottom and ¾ inch up the sides of a tart pan with a removable bottom. Smooth out bumps. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. Make sure the tart pan is resting on a flat surface (place on a cutting board or plate if necessary.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set the tart pan on a large baking sheet and remove plastic wrap. Press a double layer of foil into the tart shell and over the edges. Fill tart shell with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until dough is golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and remove weights and foil.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the bottom of the tart shell and continue to bake another 5 minutes. Cool tart shell while making the filling.

For the filling:
Increase oven to 425 degrees. Spread zucchini slices and tomato slices in a single layer over several paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and let sit for 30 minutes. Blot the tops of the zucchini and tomatoes dry with a few more paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp of the olive oil with the garli. In another bowl, mix the remaining 1 tsp of oil, ricotta and mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange zucchini and tomatoes in a layer on top of the ricotta. Drizzle the vegetables with the garlic-oil mixture. Bake the tart on the baking sheet until the vegetables are slightly wilted, about 20 minutes.

Let the tart cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with basil. Remove the outer metal ring of the tart pan. Carefully cut into wedges and serve.