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zucchini & ricotta tart
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Zucchini & Ricotta Tart

A flavorful summery tart featuring ricotta, a tomato-basil sauce, and fresh zucchini
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: ricotta, tomato sauce, zucchini
Servings: 4 as a side

Ingredients

Zucchini layer:

  • 1 zucchini about 330 g/12 oz
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp capers drained

Tomato layer:

  • 200 ml (6.7 oz) plain tomato sauce (see note 1)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • ½ tsp dried minced onion
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ½ tsp salt more or less depending on salt in tomato sauce
  • ¼ tsp ground pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp freeze-dried basil or 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (see note 2)

Ricotta layer:

  • 250 g (8.8 oz) ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 26 g (¼ cup) grated Parmesan
  • ¼ tsp salt

Crust:

  • 1 pie crust puff pastry crust or American-style flaky crust

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F), convection mode.
  • Prep zucchini layer: Thinly slice the zucchini. Mix with salt, and let stand about 15 minutes while you prepare the rest. Pat dry, then add the rest of the “zucchini layer” ingredients.
  • Cook tomato sauce: In a small pot over medium heat, mix all of the tomato layer ingredients, except for the basil. Add salt to taste, since different brands of tomato sauce have different salt contents. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should be thick but pourable when it is ready. Off heat and add chopped basil.
  • Mix the ricotta layer: Mix all of the ricotta layer ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Assemble: Place the pie crust in a metal pie tin, optionally with parchment paper under the crust. Crimp the crust edges. Spread the ricotta layer over the bottom of the pie crust. Spread the tomato sauce over the ricotta. Finally, arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer on top. Leave behind any liquid in the zucchini mixture bowl. Sprinkle any left-behind capers over the zucchini.
  • Bake the tart for 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Notes

  1. Most tomato sauces have added ingredients for flavor. If you can find a (mostly) plain tomato sauce, that is ideal for letting the other ingredients that you add shine through.
  2. Higher quality dried basil is sometimes freeze-dried, which keeps more flavor in the basil. You can identify this basil by its lighter, fresher green color versus classic dried basil. Classic dried will work, too.