Summer Vegetable Tart

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Summer Veggies in a herb cheese crust is perfect for brunch,lunch, or dinner and comes together quickly. A splash of white balsamic vinegar and hot pepper flakes makes this very now.

Prep Time45

Cook Time20

Total Time1 5

Course: Entree tart

Cuisine: American

Keyword: summer vegetable tart

Servings: servings

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Equipment

9" tart pan with removable bottom

Ingredients

Tart Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour (140 grams)
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅓ cup parmesan cheese, grated (35 grams)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, refrigerator cold (75 grams)
3 to 4 tablepoons ice cold water

Summer Vegetable Filling

1 medium red pepper
1 medium yellow pepper
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
½ medium red onion
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 7.5 oz. jar marinated artichoke quarters
10 to 12 slices provolone cheese (about ½ pound)
crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Tart Crust - please see the Step by Step photos.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set aside a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom
Combine the flour, herbs, salt, cayenne pepper, and cheese in the bowl of a processor. Pulse several times to mix.
Add the cold butter and process until it is indistinguishable.
Starting with the lesser amount of water, pour it in a circle over the dry ingredients and process until a ball forms. If it doesn't form a ball or seems a bit dry, add the remainder of the water 1 teaspoon at a time.
Divide the pastry in half (about 145 grams each). Divide one half into half again (about 70 grams each). Take a little pastry from each of the three pieces to form a ball about the size of a walnut. Wrap in film and set aside.
Roll one of the smaller pieces of dough into a 15” rope. Place it along the edge of half of the pan. Repeat with the second piece. The edges should overlap. Wet the edge of both pieces of overlapping dough and press together. Repeat on the other side. Press the crust into the side of the pan.
Shape the larger piece of pastry into a ball, flatten it and press it into the bottom of the pan. Moisten the edge of dough on the side of the pan. Join the seam between the edge of the pan and the bottom. Press well together. Prick the bottom of the crust well with a fork. Freeze until hard.
Spray a large piece of foil on the shiny side in the middle. Place that on top of the pastry in the pan. Press the edges of the foil into the edges of the crust. Fill the foil with pie weights or beans to the top.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes until completely baked. Do not over bake.
If the shell has cracked during baking, immediately upon removing from the oven use the reserved dough to patch the cracks with an offset spatula. Cool the shell.

Summer Vegetable Filling

Cut the peppers into strips, cross cut into thirds. Cut the squash into ¼ to ⅓ inch rounds. Cut the rounds in half or 4ths. Cut the onion in half. Cut the half into ¼ inch slices and then in half to make half moons.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Place the vegetables in the pan and sauté until somewhat caramelized, stirring often.
Toward the end of the cooking, add the balsamic vinegar and saute until the liquid is evaporated. Cool. Add the drained artichokes.
Place 5 or 6 slices of provolone on the bottom of the crust or half the grated cheese. Place the filling over the cheese, top with 5 or 6 more slices of provolone.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the tart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes if room temperature. The cheese may benefit from being placed under the broiler for a few minutes. Be careful not to place the tart so close to the hot coils that the paper catches on fire. Watch it carefully, it can go from browned to burned in a hurry.
Cool for a few minutes, release the tart and cut into 4 to 6 pieces.
Refrigerate any leftovers.

Notes

Notes on Recipe Cards

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. If you have questions, look at the photos or read the header of the article. Many of them will be answered there.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

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Add just enough water to make the dough workable. Too much water will make the crust shrink excessively.

The crust should be completely baked but not over baked. The longer it bakes the more the chances of the crust cracking.

Don't worry if the crust cracks, it can be easily patched.

The crust can be made ahead of time and frozen unbaked. Bake from the freezer.

Sauté the veggies until tender crisp. This can be done the day ahead if helpful.

Bake the tart just to heat the veggies and melt the cheese.

If the tart is hot but the cheese is pale, place it under the broiler but watch it so it doesn't burn. Just brown it enough to give it some color.

Nutrition