Eggplant and Ricotta Tart with Fresh Herbs and Tomatoes
Eggplant and Ricotta Tart with Fresh Herbs and Tomatoes
This tart is a reflection of Northern California’s beautiful, sun-drenched, summer markets filled with bushels of bright red tomatoes, dark purple eggplants, fresh herbs, and olive oil. There is no better time than summertime to eat this delicious tart!
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Serves 6
For the Toppings
1 medium eggplant, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
⅓ cup chopped basil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 ½ cups tomato sauce
½ cup fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
handful of small basil leaves
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Yeast Mixture
¼ cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
Dry Ingredients
1 ⅓ cup arrowroot flour
⅓ cup coconut flour
1 ½ cups almond flour
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
Wet ingredients
2 eggs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the crust
2 teaspoons raw apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
Note: You will need parchment paper and a rolling pin for this dough. A basic wooden rolling pin can be purchased for under $10 at most big box retail stores. If you don’t have a rolling pin, or don’t want to buy one, you can use a tall drinking glass, a round glass jar, wine bottle, or liquor bottle. This dough is soft and very easy to roll out.
Note: To ramp up the flavor of this delicious tart, whip up a batch of garlic and herb-infused olive oil to cook the onions and brush on the crust.
To prepare the toppings, season the sliced eggplant on both sides with salt and pepper. In batches, pan-fry the eggplant in olive oil in a large skillet until tender and golden brown, drizzling in more olive oil as needed. Arrange the eggplant on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Combine the ricotta cheese, herbs de Provence, garlic, basil, and Parmesan in a small bowl and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425°F
Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a half-sheet pan (12” X 16”) and set aside.
To prepare the crust, whisk together the ingredients for the yeast mixture in a small cup or bowl and let stand for about 5 minutes, until the mixture becomes foamy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the dry ingredients.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and add the yeast mixture when ready.
Using the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry and wet ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to the center of your cut sheet of parchment paper on a work surface.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the size of your parchment paper, rotating the paper with quarter-half turns, evenly rolling out the dough to the edges of the paper. Your dough should be about ¼-inch thick.
Transfer the dough with the parchment paper to a half-sheet pan and brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven and top with a layer of tomato sauce, and then with spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture. Continue with the sliced mozzarella and eggplant.
Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the mozzarella is melted and bubbly. Garnish with fresh tomatoes and basil leaves. Cut and serve.