About a year ago I pinned one of the most awesome looking vegetable tarts I have ever seen to my Pinterest board Vegetarian and Vegan Delights . Rather than the veggies being laid flat in the tart base, the slices were arranged in a spiral perpendicular to the base and the result looked amazing.
My version was not quite as amazing looking as the original Vegetable Arty Tart from Vicky’s blog Statsy , but it certainly was very tasty and I can’t wait to try this again with some other vegetable and filling combinations.
I would highly recommend using a mandolin for this one unless your knife skills are amazing, and as you will see from the images below, mine are far from it. We did once have a mandolin but got rid of it because we never used it, especially after getting the food processor, but one might be back on the wish list now. For this incarnation, I stuck with what Vicky used being zucchini, eggplant and carrot.
Slice all of the veggies into 2-4mm thick slices, or if you have knife skills as amazing as mine, one end will be 1mm, the middle 7mm and the other end 3mm. Needless to say I need some practice… or that mandolin. Once you have sliced them, try to ensure they are roughly the same height as well otherwise you will have a very bonky (yep, that’s the technical term) spiral.
You can certainly make your own pastry for this, but I decided to use one of the packets of Carême’s Sour Cream Shortcrust Pastry I purchased from the Cake Bake and Sweets Show last month. Prepare the pastry and then blind bake the tart shell, weighted down with some baking beads or lentils, until it is just about golden.
For the base of the tart, it is a combination of sour cream, mozarella (chopped into small pieces) and herbs or spices of your choice. The original recipe called for nutmeg and paprika, however my mother-in-law gave us a jar of mixed herbs from the garden so I used a teaspoon of that instead.
Place the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Spread over the pre-cooked tart shell and then set aside so you can get your spiral on.
It is good to have someone around as you will probably need a second pair of hands for this next bit. To get the tight spiral like Vicky, start with a piece of carrot in the middle coiled tightly, wrap a piece of zucchini around the carrot, and then the eggplant. Keep alternating until you have a tight coil to slide into the tart shell. To assist with transferring it, I was assembling the spiral on my cake lifter so I could easily lift and manoeuvre the veggies into the tart shell. However, because I was pretty average at slicing the veggies, I ended up assembling a loose spiral in the tart shell itself by working from the outside in. Certainly do what works best for you.
When you have finished arranging the veggies, bake in a 190°C preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. Mine took longer because the veggies were thicker so keep an eye on it as you also may need to cover the top with foil if it starts to brown too quickly.
Without the herbs or spices, you may end up with a bland tart so certainly add your favourites in there. The mixed herbs I used were certainly pronounced and made the tart extra tasty.
You can serve the tart as the main dish or even as a side, whatever your preference may be.
However you decide, it certainly is an impressive way to serve up those veggies.
| Servings |
serves
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- 445 g packet shortcrust pastry or make your own
- 200 g mozarella
- 200 g sour cream
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1-2 small-medium zucchinis top and bottom stalk removed
- 1 medium eggplant top stalk removed
- 2 carrots peeled
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
Ingredients
For the tart shell
For the filling
For the vegetable spiral
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- Lightly grease a 22cm loose base tart tin.
- Roll the pastry out until you have a circle approximately 28cm and lay it over the tart tin and press into the sides. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Scrunch up a piece of baking paper and open it back up. Place on the tart shell and fill with baking beads. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the beads and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the base is cooked through.
- Set aside to cool.
- Chop the mozarella into small pieces and place in a bowl.
- Add the sour cream and mixed herbs then stir until combined.
- Spread the filling over the base of the tart shell.
- Slice the vegetables into 2-4mm thick slices. Once the slicing is complete, check that they are roughly the same height and trim any edges to reduce the height as necessary.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- On a chopping board or cake lifter, start with a piece of carrot on roll into a tight curl. Wrap the carrot with a piece of zucchini and then a piece of eggplant. Continue this process until you have a spiral of vegetables the same diameter as the tart shell.
- Transfer the spiral into the tart shell and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked and lightly golden.
- Serve with a salad for a main course or as a side dish.
This tart looks amazing.
Thanks Mindie. I was very happy with how it turned out that’s for sure 🙂
I actually prefer the rustic look of your slices. Your tart rocks!
That is a perfect way to describe it, “rustic”. Will have to remember that one. Thanks for stopping Lydia 🙂
What a gorgeous use of vegetables. Pinning. It looks like brunch to me.
This would be perfect for brunch Madonna, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for visiting again!
WOOW!!!Cool tart- looks like rose!
Congratulations!!!!
Well I do love anything that looks like a rose (as you will see from the biscuits, cakes and cupcakes that appear throughout the blog). I am glad you liked it Anastasia.
I’ve been eyeing your picture all week on Tasty Tuesdays thinking that it would be too hard for me. But it looks so good, I think I want to try. Our CSA will be starting soon and farm fresh veggies are sure to make it even better!
It certainly isn’t as hard as it looks Michelle, and will definitely impress especially if using farm fresh veggies. Thanks for stopping by, and for the feature on your blog this week 🙂
Thanks so much for linking up to #tastytuesdays! Your post will be featured this week at Old House to New Home. Congrats!!
-Amanda
That’s wonderful Amanda, thank you so much for the feature.
You did a fabulous job! Thanks for linking up with Tasty Tuesday. I will be featuring this tomorrow. :o) Please stop by and grab a featured button to show off. http://pickledokra.blogspot.com
Thanks ever so much Charlie. Button acquired and I am very grateful for the feature, glad you liked it.
Congratulations!! Your recipe has been featured at Tasty Tuesdays 58 on my blog, Lori’s Culinary Creations. Hop on over and grab a feature button and link up your latest culinary creations. Congrats again.
Link- http://bit.ly/1kaKDM5
Lori
Thanks for letting me know Lori, that is awesome. Will stop by and grab a button for sure.
This tart is just gorgeous! Visiting from G’Day Saturday and so happy to see this beauty – thanks for sharing and pinning! Have a happy weekend!
Thanks for stopping by Cindy. The veggie tart is certainly proving to be a hit and I hope you give it a try 🙂
I have to try this! Wowza!
You will not be disappointed Jenna! Thanks for visiting 🙂
I love how this came out! I’ve never tried to make a tart with the veggies arranged in a spiral like that. It looks gorgeous!
Such a simple effect for maximum impact Jenn. Thanks for visiting, I am about to head over and check out your cookies.
Do you serve it cold or hot? Can you make the night before and fridge it?
Hi George
Hot is my preference when it comes to tarts in general so I have only every served it hot/warm but you should be able to serve it cold.
Although I have not done it either, I cannot see a reason why you couldn’t make it the night before and fridge it, cooked or uncooked. Just ensure it is well covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Hope this helps
Cath