Zucchinitarte (savoury zucchini tart)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Base
- 200 g flour rounded
- 2 g fine salt rounded
- 100 g cold butter, cubed rounded
- 40 ml cold water rounded
Filling
- 500 g zucchini, thinly sliced rounded
- 5 g fine salt, for salting the zucchini rounded
- 4 eggs rounded
- 200 ml cream rounded
- 120 g Gruyère, grated; vegetarian rennet, if available rounded
- 10 g garlic, finely chopped rounded
- 10 g fresh dill, chopped (optional) rounded
- to taste freshly grated nutmeg rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
Method
Method
- Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until it looks like coarse crumbs, then add the water and bring together into a dough with a few folds, not kneading. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
- Salt the zucchini slices and leave them in a colander for 20 minutes, then pat thoroughly dry with a clean towel. This step is not optional; skipped, the tart weeps liquid into the custard as it bakes.
- Roll out the dough and line a 26 cm tart tin. Prick the base, line with baking paper and baking beans, and blind bake at 200°C for 12 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake 5 more minutes, until pale gold. Reduce the oven to 190°C.
- Whisk the eggs, cream, garlic, dill, nutmeg and pepper together.
- Scatter half the Gruyère over the base, arrange the dried zucchini slices over it, then pour the custard over. Scatter the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake at 190°C for 35 to 40 minutes, until fully set with only the very centre holding a faint softness.
- Rest 10 minutes before slicing, so the custard finishes setting and holds a cleaner cut.
Notes
- Salting and drying the zucchini is the whole trick here. Zucchini is mostly water, and without this step the custard around it never fully sets, however long it bakes.
- Do not skip the blind bake. A raw base under a wet custard filling stays soggy in the centre no matter how long the whole tart is in the oven.
- A savoury custard bakes further than a sweet one. Judge it by full set with barely any give, not the gentle wobble a dessert tart wants.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats well in a moderate oven; a microwave leaves the pastry soft.
Ingredient substitutions
- Gruyère can be any good melting hard cheese; a mix of Gruyère and Parmesan adds a sharper edge.
- Dill can be chives or basil for a different herbal note.
- For a lighter tart, swap half the cream for whole milk; the custard sets slightly softer but still holds.
- Yellow summer squash works in place of zucchini with the same salting step.