Recipe: Zucchini, Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Spiral Tart {No Egg, Vegetarian Vegetable Tart That Uses Up The Summer Garden Produce}

Summary: I am a massive fan of the tart in both its sweet and savory iterations (see how many I’ve made). And this one is a stunner! Not only pretty but delicious too. It’s so summery and fresh and works perfectly if your garden is brimming with zucchini and tomato! I am not too keen on eggy tart dishes, like quiche, so this is great because there are no eggs. We used premade shortcrust but if you have (or are cooking for someone with) an egg allergy, be sure to check the pastry ingredients or make you own. We made three of these at the same time and each one used about the same ingredients, even though they were slightly different sizes. This really is such a nice tart that would absolutely WOW people with it’s pretty layers. I can see this on a brunch table with a mimosa or on a lunch table with a simple salad and some crusty bread or at the dinner table with a salad for a light meal or even as swanky starter. I can definitely see it on my plate, nom, nom, nom!

Ingredients

• 2 sheets shortcrust pastry
• 2 large red onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
• 60g parmesan cheese, grated
• 750g smallish tomatoes, sliced into rounds
• 2 fat zucchinis, sliced into rounds
• 200g fresh mozzarella or bocconcini, cut into chunks
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C.
2. Grease a loose bottom tart tin (25cm – 30 cm round or a 36 x 13 cm rectangle) and line with the shortcrust pastry. Press the pastry in well but try not to stretch it. Remove the excess pastry by rolling a rolling pin over the top the tin or trim with a knife. Refrigerate while you do the next step.
3. Add the onions, garlic, olive oil and dried herbs to a fry pan and cook until transparent. Set aside.
4. Slice the tomatoes and lay the slices on a double layer of paper towel and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. This will remove some moisture and help to prevent sogginess. Let them hang here for a while to drain while you move through the next steps.
5. Remove the pastry in its tart tin and prick the bottom with a fork. Line the top of the pastry with foil or baking paper and fill with ceramic baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.
6. While the pastry is cooling, slice up the zucchinis, cut the mozzarella into chunks and remove the basil leaves from their stems (tear the huge ones up).
7. Spread the onion mixture over the bottom of the tart and top with the parmesan cheese. Layer the zucchini and tomato rounds with a basil leaf (or part of) on top of the onions. Try to pack them closely, as they will shrink during baking. Keep going until the tart is filled.
8. Arrange the bocconcini chunks on the top the tart (nestle them if they won’t stay) and sprinkle on the sliced black olives.
9. Bake at 180C for 45 – 60 minutes or until the veggies are soft and lightly caramelized. We baked for about an hour because at 45 mins there was quite a bit of liquid that still needed evaporating.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature.