Kartoffel-Zucchini-Tarte (potato and zucchini tart)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Potato base
- 600 g waxy potatoes, peeled, very thinly sliced rounded
- 30 ml olive oil rounded
- 3 g fine salt rounded
Topping and custard
- 300 g zucchini, thinly sliced rounded
- 4 eggs rounded
- 180 ml cream rounded
- 100 g Gruyère, grated; vegetarian rennet, if available rounded
- 10 g garlic, finely chopped rounded
- to taste freshly grated nutmeg rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
Method
Method
- Toss the potato slices with the olive oil and salt. Shingle them in overlapping circles across the base and up the sides of a 26 cm tart tin, pressing gently to compact the layer.
- Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the slices hold together when the tin is tilted.
- Arrange the zucchini slices over the potato base in an even layer.
- Whisk the eggs, cream, half the cheese, garlic, nutmeg and pepper together, then pour evenly over the zucchini. Scatter the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake at 200°C for 25 more minutes, until fully set with barely any give and the potato edges are crisp and golden.
- Rest 10 minutes before slicing, so the tart holds together for a clean cut.
Notes
- Slice the potatoes as thin as you can manage, ideally with a mandoline. Thick slices take much longer to soften and can leave the base undercooked while the custard is already done.
- Do not skip the part-bake of the potato base. Without it, the raw potato releases water into the custard as it bakes and the whole tart stays wet in the centre.
- Press the shingled slices firmly before the first bake; a loosely packed base is more likely to fall apart when the tart is sliced.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats better in the oven than a microwave, which softens the crisp potato edges.
Ingredient substitutions
- Gruyère can be any good melting hard cheese; a sharp cheddar works well too.
- Zucchini can be yellow summer squash, or thin slices of eggplant salted and drained first.
- For a dairy-free version, use oat cream and a plant-based cheese, and increase the olive oil on the potato layer slightly to compensate for the lost fat.
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme scattered over the potato before the first bake adds a good background aroma.