Summer Weeknight Supper: Zucchini, Tomato and Ricotta Tart
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 12:11PM Friends, Labor Day may have come and gone, but summer is still around for a couple more weeks! If that whole solstice thing doesn't convince you, there's always the continued presence of summer squash and fat red tomatoes in the farmers' market. Faced with an overflow of both and a shortage of time, I decided to throw these two together into a quick and easy tart that is suitable for brunch, lunch or a quick weeknight dinner.
There are a number of zucchini tarts out there, not to mention tomato ones, but I found a limited number of recipes that combined them and none that wowed me. I started with a smitten kitchen recipe, as I often do, and let creativity (and laziness) lead me from there. I'll have to admit that the main thing I did was include tomatoes in an otherwise perfect recipe, but I also took a shortcut and used pie crust. On some other night I will whip up homemade dough and make the rustic galette as Deb describes.
I also changed this up a bit from my usual ricotta routine. When there is ricotta to be eaten, I almost always hit up my old favorite, the Valley Shepherd Creamery. This time, I was planning to cook before I could get to the Valley Shepherd stand. I took a leap and tried the Amish ricotta cheese available at a grocery and specialty foods store near my office. There's no messing around with this ricotta. It's not the part skim that you're used to. It was rich and creamy and really made the tart. If you have it in a store near you, I recommend giving it a try. I used more than the original recipe called for because, well, I'm an addict.
- 1 pie crust
- 1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced in thin rounds
- 2-3 plum tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup fresh ricotta (try sheep's milk or Amish country if available)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 loose handful of basil leaves, cut in ribbons
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Spread zucchini rounds on a clean tea towel and sprinkle with sea salt. Let sit for about 30 minutes. Blot zucchini with towel when finished to remove excess moisture.
- Whisk together olive oil and garlic and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the three cheese, 1 tsp of the garlic and olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Press pie crust into ungreased tart pan with removable bottom. (See original recipe for method without a tart pan). Spread ricotta mixture evenly across crust. Fan zucchini rounds and tomato slices in circles from the outside in. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top of the tart.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until pie crust has turned golden. Let stand for 5 minutes. Top with basil and serve. Reheats well for leftovers if you can hold yourself back!
