Ratatouille Tart

Ratatouille was a way for Provençal farmers to use the entire end-of-season harvest in one dish. It was also a way to restore dignity to overripe vegetables on the verge of spoiling. The beauty of this ratatouille tart is the vegetables really shine on top of flaky puff pastry — and it’s handheld. It’s a simple summer recipe to use up garden vegetables, and it looks like you put more effort into it than you did. I promise you won’t need a rat on your head to pull this off:)

Ratatouille Tart
makes about 2 tarts

shopping list —

• puff pastry

• 1 each summer squash

• 1 each zucchini

• 1 each chinese or japanese eggplant

• 1 red onion

• 1 tomato

• 1 can san marzano tomatoes

• basil

• 2-3 garlic cloves

• picked thyme

• chives

• olive oil

• egg wash with 1 egg and a splash of cream

equipment —

• mandolin

• sheet tray with parchment paper

steps —

1. In a small sauce pot, sweat the garlic cloves in a little olive oil. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer until hot. Using a stick blender, blend the tomatoes until smooth. Allow to simmer again until it’s a little thicker. Add the basil at the end, and blend again. Season with salt and a splash of red wine vinegar. Chill in the fridge.

2. Pull out the puff pastry and allow to thaw in the refrigerator if it’s frozen.

3. Thinly slice all the vegetables and keep them in separate bowls. Try to keep your red onion slices intact with concentric rings. Season the eggplant, summer squash, and zucchini with salt. After 10 minutes, drain the liquid and pat dry. Season the tomatoes with salt, sugar, and red wine vinegar. Before assembling the tart, lay on a towel to absorb excess liquid. Line up the bowls or containers in a nice assembly line.

4. Unroll the puff pastry. Take one sheet and slice in half directly down the middle hamburger-style. Place the two halves on a parchment lined sheet tray.

5. Spoon the tomato sauce onto the puff pastry, leaving a half inch border around the edges free of sauce (like making a pizza).

6. Starting at the beginning of your vegetable assembly line, grab one summer squash, one zucchini, one eggplant, red onion, and tomato and overlap them in your hands like you are holding a deck of cards. Lay them down on top of the tomato sauce starting at one corner, keeping them overlapped. Repeat until you’ve filled the tart in. Repeat with the other tart.

7. Brush the edges of the puff pastry with an egg wash. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, cracked black pepper, and picked thyme. Place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before baking.

8. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and slightly roasted and the puff pastry has puffed and is golden brown on the edges.

9. Sprinkle with chives and finish with fleur de sel. Allow the tarts to cool for 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve.