Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Zucchini Tart


adapted from a recipe by Ellie Krieger
original recipe here.

Crust:
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup whole grain pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons water

Filling:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped kielbasa or other smoked sausage**
Cooking spray
3 smaller zucchini, sliced into rounds 1/8 inch think
3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Combine cornmeal, pastry flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small pebbles. Add water and pulse until mixture forms a loose dough. Remove dough from processor and press into bottom and about 1/8-inch up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable rim. Press aluminum foil into the bottom and sides of the pan on top of the dough and weigh down with uncooked rice or pie weights. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove rice and foil. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until no longer shiny and wet. Remove from oven and let cool.

For the filling: Increase the oven to 400ºF. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat; saute onions until translucent. Add chopped kielbasa and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Spray two baking trays with cooking spray. Arrange sliced zucchini and tomatoes on the trays in a single layer and brush with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the veggie until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF. Arrange half the zucchini slices on the tart crust in a single layer, overlapping slightly. Spread the onions and kielbasa over the zucchini slices. Sprinkle the onions with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Next, make another layer of the remaining zucchini. Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese over the zucchini, along with the basil. Layer the tomatoes next, and then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese to finish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the vegetables have wilted further. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting. Cut into 8 slices, serve warm.

**For a vegetarian version the sausage can easily be omitted.

2 comments:

Kate said...

I made this for dinner last night and it was very good. I don't have a tart pan so I used a Springform (cheesecake pan) instead and it worked out fine.

Thank you for the recipe.
Kate

Erika W. said...

I used a springform as well when I made it Kate. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I'm thinking about playing with this again to create something fall-inspired.