Accidental Plastic Tart

Last week I had a kitchen disaster worthy of Bridget Jones. Yes, you know the book (or movie) I am talking about. It was lightweight and silly but fun. In fact, it kept me entertained as I waited for E to finish work at a bookstore many years ago. I just read a bit every time I was there. Don’t worry I didn’t leave a bookmark in my copy or turn down a dog ear corner. I just remembered where I was up to.

The moment in the novel I am referring to is when she makes blue soup because the string she uses has blue dye in it. She couldn’t cook and drank more than was sensible when trying to concentrate on a new recipe to impress a special gentleman.

Well, imagine if we fast forwarded many years to when she is married, has a baby, knows how to cook, doesn’t drink much anymore, and is tired and distracted. That was where I was at last week. We all were snuffly and slept badly. Sylvia was starting on solids and had to have her immunisations (she was so good she barely cried before charming the nurse and doctor with her smiles). And I was missing my mum and dad who are travelling.

So I decided to make a tart that looked simple enough. It was just a matter of layering some cheese and vegetables on puff pastry. Hard to mess up, you might think. So what did I do wrong? When it was cooked I took it from the oven, admiring the golden brown pastry and bubbling cheese. I slid the eggflip under the pastry only to find I had left the blue plastic packaging on the puff pastry. I had put the pastry, with blue lining, on the lamington tin to defrost and forgot to remove it when I came to placing the toppings on the tart. Oops!

I had actually not managed to fit all the fillings on the tart and used a third sheet of puff pastry in a smaller tin to scatter a few bits of brie, tomato and zucchini, some olives, walnuts, a drizzle of cream and some grated tasty cheese. I baked this for 30 minutes but when I discovered my blue plastic disaster, I had only put this in the oven. I was hungry.

After much sighing and hand wringing, I couldn’t wait any longer for dinner. I scraped the vegetables and cheese off the tart and a little pastry that hadn’t had the liner on it. It looked a mess. But when you are hungry it doesn’t matter how it looks. So I put my broccoli on the side and gobbled it up. It was delicious. I loved the roasted vegetables with melty brie and crispy pastry. The next night we had the leftover tart, which was also very good but very rich and needed all the vegies on the side.

The tart was so good and simple that I decided to post the recipe anyway. It can be simple as in the recipe or more complex if you want a little experimentation as I did with my second version. I highly recommend either, but just remember to remove the lining from the pastry.

Brie, Tomato and Zucchini Tart
Adapted from BBC Good Food 101 Veggie Recipes
Serves 4

• 2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
• 200g brie
• 500g (4 large) ripe tomatoes
• 350g (3 small) zucchini
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
  

Preheat oven to 200 C. Line a lamington tray (30 x 20cm) with puff pastry sheets (making sure the plastic lining is discarded!). Use a sharp knife to score a line about an inch or 2.5cm from the edge. Slice brie, tomatoes and zucchini in ½cm slices.

Heat oil in frypan and fry zucchinis at medium heat for 2-5 minutes till softening. Add oregano, season to taste and fry another 1-2 minutes. (My zucchini slices were slightly browned on some and I don’t think it was too cooked) Cool slightly.

Arrange brie, tomato and zucchini in three rows and then repeat 2 or 3 times. Bake for 25-30 minutes till tart is golden brown. Serve with salad or steamed vegetables or roast vegetables.

On the Stereo:
Tribute to the Dead Soldiers, Volume Two: Various Artists