Lost for new ways to cook with zucchini this summer?
Zucchini tarts are a simple and effective way of showcasing this humble vegetable. There are various ways to make a zucchini tart and most of them fail safe.
Firtly select a pastry base for your tart. Shortcrust, eggless shortcrust pastry or puff pastry are all good options. You can go with whatever shape of pastry you prefer rolled out; round, square or rectangular. Decide on your toppings, keep it simple with chopped or shaved zucchini on a mandolin, seasoning and fresh basil. Adding cheese also works well, particularly ricotta and goats cheese.
Tartine and Apron Strings have a particularly delicious looking and hassle free zucchini and goat cheese puff pastry tart with a few short cuts thrown in.
An impresssive looking, and equally simple recipe to follow is the Zucchini tomato tart recipe from Laura at Blogging Over Thyme. Assembly of the sliced tomato and zucchini topping are everything in the presentation of this very straightforward dish. Making the pate brisee dough is the most time consuming element, otherwise the topping of overlapping slices of tomato and zucchini is assembled raw. Basil, garlic oil and parmesan are added along with seasoning to add extra flavour. By using the best quality summer tomatoes and zucchini you will capure the sunripe flavours and sweetness of summer.
Try to find zucchini and tomatoes of similar dimensions to ensure an even dominoes effect on your zucchini tart.
The impressive and colourful finished product after about half an hour in an oven at 400 degrees. A light and satisfying pastry and vegetable treat.
Italians are also experts at getting the best out of zucchini. It's a vegetable that works well with so many other Mediteranean flavours. If you want to try an Italian version of a zucchini tart try 'Scarpaccia'. A Family Feast scarpaccia recipe has all the makings of being family favourite too.