A summer-ready Vegetable Ribbon Tart recipe
Pretty, light, and easy to make ahead
Bonjour! Bonjour!
According to Eat Your Books, the site that allows you to index your cookbook library so that you can find the chocolate cake recipe you love that’s in the book with the title you can’t remember, I’ve published something like 3,000 recipes. Maybe more. I don’t remember a lot of them – I’m surprised when people say they made a particular kind of pie and then report that it was mine. Really? When I search for the recipe and see it, of course I remember it. And most times I remember a lot about it – when I made it, where I was, who I shared it with, what everyone liked about it, how I might have changed it. The fun of recipes is so often what surrounds them. Delight is what surrounded this tart!
IT’S SO PRETTY
I can’t remember what the inspiration for this tart was – I wrote that I was channeling my inner French cook and I think I was – but I do remember that I made it for the first time in Paris. Four friends were coming to our apartment for dinner and I’d warned them that I planned to try out new recipes on them. I was working on BAKING WITH DORIE and it was almost guaranteed that if you came to dinner, I’d be serving a work – or two – in progress. That night my friends got this tart and a beef stew that I never stop riffing on (here’s one version of it that I love).
As usual, we had an aperitif and gougères before dinner and then I served the tart as a starter. I brought it out to the table on a platter – why don’t I have a picture ???? – and set it close to Michael so that he could cut it. Of course my friends oohed and aahed – ok, they ooh la la-ed – that’s what friends do. But when they stopped Michael from cutting it before I could tell them about it and wouldn’t stop saying how pretty it was, I thought I might be onto something.
Photo: Mary Dodd
A TART IN THREE LAYERS (one with a little trick)
Depending on where you live and where you shop, you might be able to find just about everything that you need for the tart ready-made or almost-made. From the top down, you’ve got:
A salad – a hodgedy-podgedy of raw vegetables
I usually use ribbons of vegetables because I like the tangle, but chunks or slices also make a great tart. And, because I’m not all that neat, I go for the heap-look, but there’s nothing that says you can’t arrange everything tidily – tidy is always good. The addition of hard-boiled eggs is also good.
A middle layer – something creamy and delicious
Of course you can make something yourself – think about an herby ricotta or yogurt mix – but I usually don’t. My go-tos are a tub of hummus (I like roasted red pepper or beet hummus here), guacamole or tzatziki. I’m always surprised at how good these old-standbys taste when you give them a new way to shine.
A puff pastry shell – scored like a frame
This is the part that makes you look like a genius. If you’ve got homemade puff pastry, great. If you’ve got storebought, great too. Roll the dough 1/8 inch thick (it doesn’t make any difference if it’s round, square or rectangular), score a band around the edges and prick the center. When the dough bakes, everything puffs, but the score lines are still visible. You crush the inner area and the frame pops up. Leave the “rubble” in the tart – it’s nice for texture.
I love that you can have the components prepped and ready to go, so that all you’ve got to do when it’s time to serve, is assemble the layers. Ooh la la.
Have a delicious weekend.
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VEGETABLE RIBBON TART
Adapted from BAKING WITH DORIE
Click here for printable recipe
Photo: Mary Dodd
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
The vinaigrette: I’ve given you a recipe for a vinaigrette made with ginger and sesame oil, but you should use whatever you’d like. You can even skip the vinaigrette and drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
The vegetables: Have fun! Just make sure that things are cut to a size that’s easy to manage.
The filling: Choose anything that you like that’s spreadable and happy to be paired with vegetables.
The pastry: Again, it’s variable. Choose what you have or what you like to make.
A WORD ON THE PUFF PASTRY: This recipe is based on a piece of pastry that weighs about 8 ounces and can be rolled out into a square about 11 inches on a side or a rectangle that’s 8 to 9 inches by 11 to 13 inches. (Pepperidge Farm puff pastry fits this description.) But if you’ve got pastry that rolls out to a different size, you can increase or decrease the amounts for the filling and topping as necessary. Precision is not important here. As recipes go, this one’s more idea than formula.
AND A WORD ON WORKING AHEAD: Each component of the tart can be prepared ahead. Even the vegetables, minus the tomatoes, can be done ahead—toss them into a large bowl, crumple a couple of damp paper towels over the top, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the pastry
1 sheet puff pastry (about 8 ounces; 227 grams), preferably all-butter, defrosted if necessary (see above)
Photo: Mary Dodd
For the vinaigrette
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (grate the zest for the topping before juicing the lemon)
1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon honey, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon za’atar, herbes de Provence or dried oregano
Pinch of fine sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or a pinch of ground ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Photo: Mary Dodd
For the topping
About 2 cups (3 or 4 generous handfuls) shaved and/or thinly sliced vegetables (see above)
A handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, quartered or sliced
2 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, cilantro and/or tarragon
Finely grated lemon zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon (reserved from above)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (113 grams) hummus (see above)
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved or quartered, or more if you’d like
Photo: Mary Dodd
DIRECTIONS
To roll and bake the pastry: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F, or the temperature recommended on the package of puff pastry.
Unroll or unfold the puff pastry onto a work space; keep it on the paper it came with or use a fresh sheet of parchment. You want a square or rectangle that’s 1/8 inch thick (see above), so roll it out if needed. Mark off a 1-inch border on all sides of the dough by nicking it with the tip of a knife—think of it as a frame. Then, using the nicks as your guide, run the knife tip against the edge of a ruler to score the border, taking care not to cut all the way through the dough. Prick the inner rectangle or square of dough—leave the “frame” as is—and slide the paper and dough onto a baking sheet.
Photo: Mary Dodd
Bake the pastry for about 15 minutes (or follow the package directions). Let color and puff be your guide: You want the sheet to be golden brown (pale puff pastry isn’t tasty) and puffed all over. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the pastry cool to room temperature. (As long as your kitchen isn’t humid, you can keep the pastry uncovered at room temperature for up to 8 hours. If it needs a crisping, reheat it for a few minutes and cool before topping.)
Photo: Mary Dodd
Just before you’re ready to construct the tart, use a fork or your fingers to crush and flatten the pastry in the inner rectangle or square. Don’t discard the crumbs and pieces—leave them on the tart; they’ll add more texture.
To make the vinaigrette: Put all of the ingredients except the olive and sesame oils in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to blend. Add the oils and shake again. Taste, and if you think it needs a little more of something, add it now. Set aside until needed. (You can make the vinaigrette a few hours ahead and let it sit at room temperature or refrigerate it. Shake well before using.)
To make the topping and assemble the tart: Put the shaved and/or sliced vegetables, the tomatoes and scallions in a large bowl. (The vegetables, without the tomatoes, can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours ahead; see above. Add the tomatoes when ready to assemble the tart.) Add most of the herbs and the lemon zest, season well with salt and pepper and toss together. Give the vinaigrette a good shake, pour it over the vegetables and toss again. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
Photo: Mary Dodd
Place the pastry on a serving plate or a nice cutting board. Spread the hummus over the flattened portion of the pastry (leave the puffed border bare). Top the hummus with the vegetables—some will probably get away and tumble over the edges, and that’s fine and pretty—followed by the eggs. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, sprinkle the tart with the remaining herbs and serve immediately.
Photo: Mary Dodd
You can cut the tart with a chef’s knife—snap the blade down as you cut, don’t saw—or a pizza wheel. Whatever you use, there will be flying shards of pastry—they’re part of the tart’s charm.
STORING: While you can prepare much of this ahead of time, the tart is not meant to be kept.
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