Such was the case when I saw a picture of this tart on Pinterest. It involves several different species currently living in the biosphere that is my crisper drawer. And that was good enough for me.
As it turns out, though, this baby is delicious! I plan to make it many more times... and it can be adapted to use whatever vegetables are in season, so I imagine it will become a semi-regular part of the rotation around here. Plus, it is meatless, so it can be a part of the Monday routine. Although I served it as a main course, it is presented cut into smaller pieces and served as an appetizer. Look out Book Club... it's coming your way soon!
Without any further ado, I present to you Roasted Vegetable and Hummus Tart.
Thanks to Soma at eCurry. You have no idea how much this recipe means to me.
The recipe that Soma has on her blog allows for making the crust, the hummus, and the veggie topping separately and then combining them. I happened to have some hummus on hand already, so I used pre-made hummus. If you want this hummus recipe, head on over and check it out. It's not hard at all, although it requires some ingredients you may not have around (chickpeas, tahini).
I used her recipe for the crust (so delicious! And flaky! And without any butter!) She uses somewhat odd and very precise amounts of ingredients for the crust, but don't doubt her. She clearly knows what she is doing. She topped her tart with onions, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. I (of course) used the veggies that came in my box this week... summer squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, and potatoes.
To make the Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons very cold club soda
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
optional -- any herbs you like. I added some fresh thyme, since that was in my box this week
The trick is to handle this crust as little as possible. It isn't hard at all, so handling it very little is easy to do.
In a bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and herbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil and club soda for a couple of minutes, until it is almost creamy-looking.
Pour water-oil mixture into the flour mixture, and combine with a fork just until there is no dry flour left. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.
Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each one separately. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll in only one direction (not back and forth). I rolled mine into rectangles like Soma did, by rolling out a more or less rectangular shape and cutting the edges. I was tempted to leave it as a sort of loose oval, because it looked rustic and charming. You can make it whatever shape you like.
Remove the top parchment paper, cut the edges if you wish, and pierce with a fork.
Bake the crusts on the parchment paper at 400 degrees, for about 12 minutes, or until golden.
To prepare the veggies:
Again, use whatever vegetables you prefer, or whatever you happen to have around.
2 summer squash, sliced into rounds
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 potatoes, sliced
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil
herbs, to taste (again, I used the thyme from my box, plus some sage and rosemary)
Lay all of the vegetable slices out on parchment paper. Combine the oil with the herbs and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the vegetables.
Roast at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Turn once, about halfway through.
To Assemble the Tart:
2 tart crusts
1/2-1 cup of hummus
roasted vegetables
sea salt
olive oil
Let the crusts cool after baking. Spread 1/4-1/2 cup of hummus on each one. Layer the vegetables on top. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, to warm it all up.
