28 August 2008

Crisp Zucchini Ricotta Tart and Tomato Salad

This is another recipe from UKTV . I find so many interesting recipes I would like to try on their web site.
Growing up I remember overcooked vegetables and meat as part of our daily routine. As we all know times have certainly changed and British cuisine is on the leading edge with thanks to well known British chefs like Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson bringing it to the forefront. Those of you who are Brits would definitely know more on this subject than I do.
This recipe comes from Jo Pratt from Great Food Live . As I mentioned in a previous post I have been looking for recipes to use up an overabundance of zucchini torpedoes from friends. This looked liked an interesting twist.
This crisp ricotta tart and tomato salad make a light meal that's rich in Mediterranean flavour. I even found Cheshire cheese here in town. Chesire Cheese is Britain's oldest named cheese. It can be traced back to Roman Britain. Originally, Cheshire was made near the village of Chester on the River Dee, but it soon spread to farms throughout the county of Cheshire.It has a mild flavor and aroma that remind you of a fine Cheddar. Excellent as a table or melting cheese.

**Crisp Zucchini Ricotta Tart and Tomato Salad**

For the tart

3 (zucchini) courgettes
3 red or white Onions, peeled
3 T olive oil
375 g ready rolled puff pastry
250 g Ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
35 g Cheshire cheese, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
large bunch basil, finely shredded
freshly ground salt and pepper

For the salad

4-6 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
20 pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
2 T capers, rinsed and drained
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil

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Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/400 F. Halve the courgette length ways and then slice each half diagonally into 1 cm pieces. Cut the onions into thin wedges, keeping the root intact. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the courgette and onions for about 5-8 minutes, until they are lightly golden and softened. You may have to do this in a couple of batches. Remove from the pan and leave to cool while you prepare the base of the tart.
Place the pastry onto a lightly oiled baking tray and prick several times with a fork.
Mix together the ricotta, eggs, half the Cheshire cheese, garlic and basil and beat until smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the mixture over the pastry base, leaving a 2cm border around the edges.
Arrange the courgette and onion wedges on top of the ricotta mixture, lining them up neatly (or randomly for a rustic look), and press them down lightly. Season lightly and drizzle over a little olive oil. Brush the edges of the pastry with the remaining oil. Sprinkle rest of the grated Cheshire cheese over the tart and bake for 25 minutes, until the filling has set and the pastry is golden.

Meanwhile, to make the salad, simply toss the tomatoes, olives and capers together in a bowl. Mix the red wine vinegar and olive oil together and stir this into the tomato salad. Season to taste.

Remove the tart from the oven and serve in slices with the tomato salad.
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23 comments:

  1. Oooh! Perfect combination of flavours Val! Perfect for that abundant zucchini you have...chesire cheese is indeed delicious!

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  2. Great idea for using up your zucchini! It's one of my favorite vegetables. I love to use veggies and ricotta on pizza, but the puff pastry sounds delicious!

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  3. Oh how grand this is! Just magical really.

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  4. This totally would have fit in with our tomato themed dinner.

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  5. This sounds like a perfect recipe to use your zucchini.

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  6. A gorgeously delicious tart! I love the combo!

    cheers,

    Rosa

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  7. 'Tis the time to collect all great zucchini recipes! Like this one a lot.

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  8. You are making my dishes look very unhealthy, Val. This tart has all the right flavors for me....

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  9. Another great looking treat, Val.

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  10. I love UKTV Food - it is the constant choice on our telly box! One of my favourite shows atm is Market Kitchen :)

    Cheshire cheese on toast with worcestershire sauce is wonderful!

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  11. Never mind the website - my TV is permanantly tuned to UKTV Food, much to hubby and daughters annyance! He'd rather be watching cricket, she'd rather be watching kids tv. Great Food Live ended last year - it was one of my favourite programmes on the channel and I was gutted. Still at least we still have the recipes. Loving this one lots.

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  12. I think I love everything in both dishes.

    Jaime Oliver was one of my biggest cooking influences - I think he really "taught" me how to cook.

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  13. Now I'm really sad that my zucchini plant died prematurely. The tart looks so yummy!

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  14. You amaze me with the stuff you make sometimes! This tart looks just great!

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  15. Love. This.

    (Was relieved to see the recipe came from Jo Pratt from Great Food Live. At first I thought you were talking about the Jo from the TV show "Super Nanny," as she's the only British Jo I am familiar with!)

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  16. The Tart sounds so good Val I can't wait to try it. What is Cheshire cheese and what do you think would be a good sub for it?

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  17. A substitute for Cheshire cheese would be a good quality Cheddar Judy:D

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  18. I love zuchinni Vall and this recipe look wonderful!! xGloria

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  19. I love putting things on puff pastry, almost always works, have never tried ricotta on it though, looks tasty:-)
    X M

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  20. simple, delicious, perfect for the tail-end of summer!

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  21. A gorgeous tart Val and packed full of flavour mmmmm

    Rosie x

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  22. Reading this makes me want to go back to England. I miss it so much. Nice tart.

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  23. Zucchini and ricotta - now that's an idea. I also like the idea of serving it with a tangy tomato salad. Inspiring!

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Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

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