This vegetable forward tart is teaming with seasonal zucchini. Barely held together with a thin batter, this crowd pleaser is well balanced with the sweetness of sun dried tomatoes and brightness of lemon zest. It is a superb dish to bring to a potluck and equally delicious served warm or cold.
Makes 30 small appetizer squares
8 large dinner portions
4 medium (2lbs) zucchini, sliced thinly
1 red onion, sliced thinly into half moons
3 handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 cup roughly chopped basil
1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley
1 jar (250ml) sundried tomatoes in oil
1/4 cup olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups corn meal
1 tbsp baking powder
2 eggs
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup of water
Garnish
Lemon wedges
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 375F
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Line a 12×16 baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Into a very large mixing bowl add sliced zucchini, red onion, spinach, basil and parsley.
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Drain the sundried tomatoes, reserving all the oil. Add about 1/4 cup of olive oil to the sundried tomato oil so you end up with 3/4-1 cup of oil in total.
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Add the sun dried tomatoes to the bowl along with the lemon zest, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
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In another bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal and baking powder.
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Pour the flour mixture into all the vegetables and use your hands to toss the ingredients together. Be sure to coat all the vegetables well.
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Whisk together the eggs and sugar and pour it into the vegetable bowl along with all the oil, mix well.
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A thin batter will begin to form around the vegetables. Add the 1/4 cup water and continue to mix by hand until everything is well incorporated. Be sure you have no dried flour left in the bowl.
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Line a baking sheet with parchement paper and pour out the mixture on to it. Use your hands to push the vegetables into the corners.
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Place in the oven for 55 min until vegetables are quite brown and set.
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Cool for 15 min then slice up into squares and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle of parmesan.
Tip: Substitute the sun dried tomatoes for roasted red peppers OR olives OR marinated artichoke hearts. If you do substitute you will need 1 cup of olive oil in total since you won’t have the oil from the tomatoes to use.
For a printable version of the recipe click here.