Monday, July 19, 2010

Who are you calling a tart?

Part two of childless Sunday ended up being a lovely goat cheese tart with a sundried tomato and garlic polenta crust topped with paper thin slices of yellow summer squash and zucchini. 

It is a tremendously simple dish to make and serves well as a light meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) or you may make in a square pan, cut into bite sized pieces and serve it as cocktail nibble.

To accompany the tart, we had a spinach salad which I dressed with a Yellow Tomato Vinaigrette.  Between the Herbs de Provence in the goat cheese and the dijon mustard in the dressing, the meal ended up having a decidedly French flair.

This is my lovely Tarte aux Fromage de Chevre et de deux Cougres Polenta or Goat Cheese and Polenta Tart with Two Squashes.  The salad is dressed with Jaune Tomate Vinaigrette Dijon or Yellow Tomato Dijon Vinaigrette.  I just SOUNDS so much fancier when you say it in French oui?

I also decided to set the small table by the kitchen window pour deux and have a leisurely dinner WITHOUT the television!  Now how to wrest the remote from Roger's clutches?  Someday he will be buried with that thing because it is unlikely that the mortician will be able to pry it from his cold dead fingers!

So here is our lovely intimate dinner for two...


Preparation of the tart begins simply with the making of the polenta crust.
You will need:
  • 2 cups boiling water or low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 cup yellow corn polenta (buy organic if possible)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cloves finely minced or pasted garlic
  • 1/2 cup oil packed sundried tomatoes, minced (do not drain)
Bring the water or broth to a boil over medium high heat; add the salt, garlic and minced sundried tomatoes with whatever oil is on them.  Gradually whisk in the polenta.  You must stir constantly and exercise caution for two reasons...lumps and splattering!  Hot polenta bubbles fiercely and can cause quite a serious burn if you are not careful. 

Once the polenta has thickened, remove from heat.  Lightly grease a removable bottom tart pan with room temperature butter.  Using a spatula, scrape polenta out into tart pan.  Grease the back of a spoon or your hands (if you have asbestos fingers like me) and press the polenta up the sides and evenly into the bottom of the pan creating a crust.  Set the crust aside to prepare the goat cheese filling.


                            
  • 3 ounces soft, creamy style goat cheese at room temperature
  • 3 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese or cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 ounces crumbled goat milk feta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon (or to taste) Herbs de Provence
Using a spatula, mash the cheeses and herbs together thoroughly in a small bowl until you have a creamy homogenous mixture.  Spread the cheese evenly into the bottom of the prepared polenta crust.



Next you will prepare the two squashes.
  • 1 large (about 7 inches long) zucchini squash
  • 1 large or two small yellow crookneck summer squash
  • 1 clove grated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
Using a mandolin slicer works best for getting the squash slices precisely thin but it you don't have one, simply slice them as thinly as you can.  Beginning at the outter edge, alternate slices of zucchini and yellow squash until a complete circuit of the tart is made.  Repeat in concentric circles to the center.  It usually takes 4 or 5 slices to finish the center of the tart.  Add the grated garlic to the olive oil and brush the whole surface of the tart liberally.


                             

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bake the tart on the center rack in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes.  If the squash are not as nicely browned as you would like, switch the oven to broil and broil to desired browness.  I do not brown mine excessively...merely till the squash begins to curl at the edges.

The tart must rest for 10 minutes before attempting to remove the outer ring else you risk breaking the fragile polenta crust.  As it cools, the crust becomes more stable and the cheese filling more set.  This tart is actually best served at room temperature.


                               


                               



The Yellow Tomato Dijon Vinaigrette comes together in a flash with the blender
  • 2 medium yellow tomatoes, cored and cut into 8ths
  • 2 cloves pressed garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons dijon mustard (to taste)
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey (to taste)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
  • 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more if you don't mind the fat)
Plop tomatoes, garlic, mustard, honey, salt, pepper and vinegar into the blender.  Pulse until completely pureed.  Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  With blender running, drizzle olive oil through top opening until all is combined.  The mixture may break and curdle if all the olive oil is added at once.  Store any unused portion in a lidded container (not metal) in the fridge for up to a week.






(c)copyright Jill Anderson
The Homegrown Gourmet




22 comments:

  1. This is an impressive dish! The presentation is so pretty.I've saved this for company. It's a great way to use up all that extra summer squash.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well I may call you a tart, or a tart queen! Lovely and adore the polenta crust. Lunch is served when?

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful tart! Wish my honey like polenta. Maybe I could entice him with this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks girls..just don't tell anyone how easy it is to make. That way they will think you ARE the tart queen!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Jilly, my culinary nemesis-polenta or grits crusts. I can never get them right. I don't know why. Maybe I'm too impatient to wait for the corn to thicken up enough for it to be a crust? Other than that though, I make awesome grits...
    This looks wonderful, Jilly. I can only imagine its wonderment, but maybe I'll try again soon. I do have some Arrowhead Mills organic corn grits.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It looks so fancy and summery!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Delicious! Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks everyone! Stella, I think the liquid to dry ratio needs to be a little lower than normal. Whatever the directions say for making a particular amount of polenta or grits, I would hold back 1/4 cup of the liquid. Also, cook the polenta until you begin to see dry pan when you scrape through it. You have to take it on and off the heat to keep it from boiling and scalding you. Also, don't cut the crust while it's steaming hot. If all else fails..just get a spoon and eat the polenta out of a bowl...LOL It's good no matter what!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely tart and table setting! That tart does sound delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Perfect! This is one of the best things I have seen all week:) And I so want that plate...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Okay - "Yum" and "Beautiful" - I always admire someone who can make a good looking tart! loads of food love! ♥♥♥ miss megan

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jill
    that tart is a masterpiece!! your polenta crust would have been enough but adding in sun dried tomatoes was genius! I love goat cheese, and the squash just pulls it all together....
    what a great dinner....I am getting into more vegetarian options!
    Dennis

    ReplyDelete
  13. That tart looks supreme and I bet it tasted wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. thank you everyone!

    Alisha...those are my favorite set of dishes...they are just gorgeous.

    LOL Dennis...I promise you will forget all about those beef franks in time!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a perfect meal to have without children! That tart is just stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  16. wow, that tart looks delicious! the top veggie layout reminds me of Ratatouille.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love everything you make! I thought the tart was a pie at first glance. With the goat cheese, I got really excited. Nothing beats it!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love the idea of making polenta dough instead of regular with flour and butter. Looks delish.

    ReplyDelete

Wooohooo, yippeeee...I've got comments!

About Me

My photo
Fort Myers, Florida, United States