Jane Hughes recently joined VfL as our new roving chef. Jane is a qualified and experienced vegetarian cookery tutor and has published several vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. Her latest, The Vegetarian Year, came out this year in the UK and USA.
Courgette and Tomato Tart
This recipe makes good use of seasonal produce and is a great way to make use of gluts of tomatoes and courgettes. Look for a variety of hard Italian-style cheese that is labelled as suitable for vegetarians.
Serves 6
Vegetarian
Ingredients
250g shortcrust pastry
4 courgettes
1 tbsp olive oil
500g ripe tomatoes
100g Gruyere cheese
1 handful fresh chopped basil
4 eggs
225ml crème fraiche
90ml milk
3 tbsp vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Roll out the pastry and line a 20cm diameter pie dish. Refrigerate for 20 minutes, then line with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Take the crust out of the oven and set aside. Turn the oven temperature down to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Trim and thinly slice the courgettes. Slice the tomatoes. Grate the Gruyere cheese and vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese. Beat the eggs together with the milk and crème fraiche.
- Gently fry the courgette slices in the olive oil until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Put a layer of courgettes (about half of them) into the pastry case and cover with a layer of tomatoes and a layer of cheese. Add the rest of the courgettes, the basil and the tomatoes. Mix the remaining Gruyere cheese into the egg mixture and carefully pour this over the top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese and bake for 40 minutes until set and golden.
