Summer is the most exciting time for cooking with food that has come straight from the earth, and the innate flavor of freshly picked vegetables make simple recipes like the below Zucchini and Tomato Tarts from my first cookbook, SAVOR: Rustic Recipe Inspired by Forest, Field, and Farm, an instant success. Eating food that is in season can be served simply, without lots of added spices or complicated dressings, and tastes delicious nevertheless. These tarts are a great way to use up fresh vegetables when you have an abundance of them in the summer.
Tomato Tart
Makes one 11- to 12-inch tart; serves 4 to 6
This tart makes great use of sun-ripened, fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes, so when your garden is overflowing with them, reach for this recipe. The dough is shaped into a free-form crust, making a beautiful rustic tart.
Ingredients
- 4 medium tomatoes, cut into thin slices, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- All-purpose flour, for shaping the crust
- Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the tomato slices out over several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle them evenly with the salt and let drain for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, coat a medium sauté pan with the olive oil and sauté the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft and sweet, about 8 minutes.
- Put the Savory Tart Dough on a baking sheet.
- Lightly flour your hands and gently pull and stretch the dough into a 13- to 14-inch circle.
- Spread the onions over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.
- Arrange the tomatoes over the onions; there should be no onions visible when all the tomatoes have been layered on top. Drizzle with the olive oil and top with the thyme sprigs.
- Fold the border of the dough over the filling. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
- This tart can be served hot out of the oven but is just as delicious at room temperature. Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Bring back to room temperature before serving or reheat in the oven.
Zucchini Tart
Makes one 11- to 12-inch tart; serves 4 to 6
This tart is delicious at room temperature, making it a great picnic food. The dough for the tart can be made up to a week in advance and kept in the refrigerator. It also freezes well. With the dough on hand, this tart comes together very fast: simply slice the zucchini, combine the cheese with the herbs, spread the cheese mixture over the flattened dough, top with the zucchini, and shape it into a rustic free-form tart before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini, thinly sliced
- Flaky sea salt
- Savory Tart Dough
- 8 ounces goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 1⁄8 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place the zucchini slices in a strainer and sprinkle them evenly with teaspoon salt. Let drain for 30 minutes, then spread them out on paper towels to drain for another 30 minutes.
- When the zucchini has almost finished draining, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Transfer the tart dough to a baking sheet.
- Using a potato masher, mash together the goat cheese, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, Parmesan, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
- Flour your hands and gently pull and stretch the dough into a 13- to 14-inch circle on the baking sheet.
- Spread the cheese mixture over the crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Starting at the outside edge, layer the zucchini, overlapping the slices on top of the cheese mixture. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Fold the border of the dough over the filling. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
Savory Tart Dough
Makes dough for one 11- to 12-inch tart
A tart crust is a good vehicle for tasting the nuances of different flours. It’s a great way to see how flours can differ in texture, too. This recipe uses spelt or farro flour, which produces a firm, hearty crust.
- 1 cup organic spelt flour plus more for shaping the crust
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons white wine
- Combine the flour, rosemary, and salt in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and butter and mix together by hand until the dough has the consistency of wet sand. Add the wine and mix together. If the dough is too dry and does not come together, add a little water.
- Knead the dough by hand inside the bowl for a few minutes until it comes together as a ball. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
For the tart dough, it is worth buying organic grain with a non-GMO heritage instead of supermarket products made from flour whose origins are unclear, or even better, mill your own grains. You can find more information on learning to mill grains at home in my book, SAVOR: Rustic Recipe Inspired by Forest, Field, and Farm, and online at IlonaOppenheim.com.
Bread, cookies, croutons, cereal, crackers, and all other baked goods that are made from scratch with home-milled grains may lead the way to more sustainable living. If we can all teach our children this way of life, one that integrates nature on every level, we can change the perception of food, reduce our “foodprint,” and make the planet a healthier place.
Article excerpted from Savor by Ilona Oppenheim (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2016. Photographs by Ilona Oppenheim.
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