What a showstopper recipe I have for you today! This rainbow vegetable tart is a wonderful centrepiece for a spring or summer lunch. It is very hands-on to make and does require a decent chunk of time but it is oh so worth it. A buttery shortcrust pastry base, filled with fresh basil whipped ricotta and topped with ribbons of courgette, carrot and aubergine. Delicious served warm or cold with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Although it takes a bit of time to make, the leftovers keep perfectly so either make it for a gathering with friends or make it solo and save it for lunches for a few days! With a few easy swaps it can be made gluten free or vegan and you can really get creative with which vegetables you use.
Equipment
- A 24-28cm tart dish: I love my ceramic Le Creuset 28cm one, but a metal one with a removable base also makes it easy to get your tart out!
- Food processor with slicing attachment: Not necessary but it makes the prep for this recipe SO much easier. My Sage Kitchen Whizz Pro (Breville Sous Chef in the US) has an adjustable slicer that gives me 1mm ribbons of veggies in seconds! It is also wonderful for whipping up the dough as it has a dough blade.
- If you don’t have a food processor for slicing, I recommend a mandolin.
Recipe Modifications
- Vegan: Swap the butter for coconut oil and use a vegan soft cheese in place of the ricotta.
- Gluten free: Use a plain 1:1 gluten free flour.
- Vegetables: Sweet potato and butternut squash also work well in this recipe!
Rainbow Vegetable Tart
Ingredients
Pastry
- 150 g butter cubed
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3-5 tbsp cold water
Filling
- 3 carrots
- 2 courgettes/zucchinis
- 2 aubergines/eggplants
- 250 g ricotta cheese
- 80 g basil 1 bunch
- 1/2 lemon juice of
Instructions
- Prepare the pastry at least an hour before you want to start making the tart. Add the flour, salt and cubed butter to a bowl and use your fingers to rub together until fine crumbs form. Alternatively, blitz in a food processor with a dough blade – much easier!
- Add the water 1 tbsp at a time, kneading or pulsing in the food processor until the dough just comes together. Press in to a ball, wrap in foil or plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180c/350f.
- Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Flour a rolling pin and roll out to around 1/2 cm thick in a circular shape. Carefully pick up and lay over your tart tin.
- Use your fingers to gently press down in to the tin's shape. Cut off excess but leave around 1" overhang to allow for shrinkage. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans or dried legumes. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and bake for another 5-10 until mostly cooked through but not too golden.
- Meanwhile, use a mandolin, peeler or a slicing attachment for a food processor to slice the vegetables in to thin ribbons. The carrot ribbons can be left whole, but I would recommend cutting the aubergine and courgette ribbons in half lengthways to make them thinner. Your slices should be roughly 1" wide so that they aren't too tall for the tart.
- To prepare the filling, whizz the ricotta, lemon juice and basil together in a food processor and season with salt and pepper to taste. Or finely chop the basil and mix together.
- Once the tart base is cooked, add the ricotta filling and spread out evenly.
- To start the vegetable spiral, roll together one slice of carrot, aubergine and courgette and place it in the middle of the tart. Continue to tightly spiral vegetable ribbons around the centre, alternating as you go. This while take a while! Continue until you have reached the edges of the tart.
- Drizzle the tart with olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and slightly crisp.
- Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Notes
I hope that you enjoyed this recipe, let me know in the comments what you think and tag me in your creations on Instagram @essentially.emma !
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