Zucchini-Tomato "Tart" with Herbs and Parmesean

I'm not sure I can call this a tart. But Tart sure does sound cute if not fancy even. I don't have a tart dish. It's on my wish list....cursed wish list. Too much junk, who needs it? Really, other than looking fancy, one does not absolutely have to have a tart dish in order to make a tart of sorts.

In fact, I told my kids we were having zucchini PIE and they were thrilled! It worked out well, I had just a bit of dough left from my main dish and made the kids a " Cute little baby pie." Whatever works. ;-)

So a couple of things I learned when making this pie.

1. The more shallow the pan/dish the better. I ended up having to use twice as many eggs as I wanted to and so it was more like a quiche than a tart. Not to mention it took about an hour to bake instead of 30 minutes. Look how deep my casserole dish is on the bottom of this post. Traditionally, tart pans are pretty shallow, plus they have pretty little ridges. ;-)
2. When rolling out your crust try to get it as thin as you can. Mine was really yummy but pretty thick. So, more like a pie than a dainty tart. I added dried Thyme to my dough while mixing it and it was so wonderful! This was probably the best crust I've ever had! Ever.

adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought

SERVES 6     TIME 15 MIN ACTIVE, 45 MIN BAKE
Ingredients:
Crust

1 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons dried Thyme

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 cup water



Filling

3 zucchini, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese- divided.

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 large Organic eggs

2 tablespoons low-fat milk

Salt and pepper to taste

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Preheat oven to 350F


Putting it all together:
Tart Crust

Spread the oats and sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes. Transfer the toasted oats and sesame seeds to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the flour, thyme, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and process until the oats are finely ground.

In a medium bowl or Mixer, whisk together the water and oil. Mix in the dry ingredients to form a dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Place the dough (folding in thirds if necessary for transfer) into the tart pan. Press it down evenly, making sure to fill in the fluted sides of the pan. Trim the tart of any excess dough. Cover with foil or damp towel and keep refrigerated for 30 minutes.
*save foil so you can cover the tart in the oven if it starts getting to brown




Tart Filling
Thinly slice the tomatoes and zucchini, I used my Kitchen Aide slicer attachment for the zuk.
In a large bowl, combine the zucchini with thyme, basil, salt, cracked pepper and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the zucchini mixture in one layer onto tart crust. Sprinkle a layer of the cheese on top followed by one more layer of zucchini slices. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the second zucchini layer.

Whisk together the eggs and milk, add remaining cheese. Pour egg mixture evenly over the top and let it sink into the tart.

Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.



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