Popina’s Eggplant, Bell Pepper, and Tomato tart

A while ago I was watching some British cooking show and they visited this fantastic farmer’s market stand with amazing looking tarts and savory baked goods. Of course I had to google them, and then pick up their cookbook. I finally tried one of their tarts, it was different in a very nice way. The tart used a creamy base of Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese as a bed for roasted vegetables – no eggs! The pastry was flaky and delicious, and while it was easy to make – just throw everything in the food processor, it was not easy to roll, so I just patted it into my tart pan. The recommended dough for this tart in the book was a yeasted “pizza dough” with an egg in it, I didn’t have time for a rise so I just used the flaky pie dough. Since the vegetables rest on the creamy filling the tart doesn’t make for the prettiest slices. . . but I thought it looked great when it was uncut, and it tasted really good. I’ll definitely make it again.

Eggplant, Bell Pepper, and Tomato Tart – adapted from: popina book of baking.

Pie Dough

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

6 1/2 Tablespoons chilled, cubed butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cold water

Throw all of it in a food processor and blitz unntil it forms moist crumbs. Take the top off and press it in your palm, it should hold together. Dump it out on the counter and form a ball – try to roll it out. Or just dump the crumbs in your pie plate and pat them down. In the book she says to “blitz until it forms a ball of dough.” That wasn’t happening for me, and I didn’t want to overmix, the dough worked out perfectly when I made it as I stated. Throw this in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so.

Filling

1 medium eggplant chopped into 1/2” cubes

1 large bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 large onion thinly sliced

3 Tablespoons olive oil

salt

ground black pepper

2/3 cup cherry tomatoes halved

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

2/3 cup greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350.

Put the eggplant, peppers and onions in a non-stick roasting pan, drizzle with oil and season well with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil (oops, I missed this) Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until just soft (mine took much longer with the open pan). Drain any excess juice from the roasted vegetables.

Reduce heat to 325.

Stir the tomatoes parsley, and half the cheese into the roasted vegetables and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt and remaining cheese – I threw in a spoonful of pesto because I had some. . . spread it on the bottom of the pie crust.

Scatter the roasted vegetables over the yogurt and bake for 30 minutes.

This is the work of my 11 year old food stylist. . . and gardener actually – he grew the peppers and tomatoes.