Provencale Tarts Recipes

PROVENCAL ONION TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter with oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and soft, about 10 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to an 8 1/2-by-15-inch rectangle, trimming edges to make them straight. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, transfer to oven, and immediately reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake until pastry just begins to puff, about 12 minutes.
• Arrange onions in a single layer over pastry, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with olives and anchovies (if desired). Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and continue baking until tart is puffed and golden around the edges, about 15 minutes more (tent with foil if crust browns too quickly). Let cool slightly before cutting into small squares and serving.

PISSALADIèRE

Steps:

• Dilute the yeast in a little warm water.
• Meanwhile, mix the flour with the salt, then add the yeast. Pour the warm water and mix.
• Then, pour the olive oil and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is homogeneous and forms a ball that pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
• Cover and allow to rest for an hour in a warm place.
• In a large pan, cook the sliced onions, ​​in olive oil with the unpeeled whole garlic cloves, thyme, bay leaf, savory and oregano. Cook on low heat, stirring regularly for at least 1h30, until you get a kind of compote.
• One hour into the cooking of the onions, spread the dough to the size of a baking sheet. Place the dough on the baking sheet and cover with a slightly damp cloth. Let rest for one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 410 F / 210 C.
• Remove garlic cloves and aromatic sprigs from the cooked onions. Add a very small of amount of salt (anchovies and olives are already salted). Spread the onions on the dough with a skimmer or slotted spoon to allow the oil to drain.
• Decorate with filets of anchovy and black olives.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Pour in a drizzle of olive oil (optional) and serve with a chill rosé wine.

PROVENçAL ZUCCHINI AND SWISS CHARD TART

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem the greens, and wash them thoroughly in several rinses of water. If the ribs are wide, wash and dice them, then set aside. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add a generous amount of salt and the chard leaves. Blanch for one minute, until just tender. Using a slotted spoon or deep-fry skimmer, transfer to the ice water, then drain. Squeeze out excess water and chop. Set aside.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet, and add the onion and diced chard stems, if using. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the zucchini. Season to taste with salt, and cook, stirring, until just tender and still bright green, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme and rosemary, and cook with the zucchini and onion until the garlic is fragrant, about one or two minutes. Stir in the greens, toss everything together, and remove from the heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste), the zucchini mixture, and the Gruyère. Mix everything together, add pepper, taste once more and adjust seasoning.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 10-inch tart pan. Roll out two-thirds of the dough and line the pan, with the edges of the dough overhanging. Freeze the remaining dough. Fill the lined pan with the zucchini mixture. Pinch the edges of the dough along the rim of the pan. Place in the oven and bake 50 minutes, until set and beginning to color. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving (preferably longer). This can also be served at room temperature.

PROVENçAL TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 200C/ conventional 220C/gas 7. Roll out the pastry thinly and cut out a 24cm square. Cut into three, then in half to make six rectangles, and transfer to a baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork, brush with a little beaten egg and sprinkle with half the thyme. Bake for 12-15 minutes until pale golden, then press the pastries down lightly to flatten slightly and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a small pan, add the onions and the remaining thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook very gently, stirring often, for about 30 minutes until the onions are completely softened but not coloured. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• Spread out the peppers over the grill pan, skin side up. Grill until the skins are evenly blackened. When cool enough, peel off the skins. Transfer to a dish and set aside.
• Cut the aubergine into 12 slices and spread out over the grill pan. Brush lightly with olive oil and heat under the grill until lightly coloured, then turn over, brush again with olive oil and grill until just tender. Transfer to a dish, drizzle with a little more olive oil and add the garlic. Stir gently and leave to cool. (Up to this point, everything can be prepared up to a day ahead. Wrap the pastry in foil, cover the vegetables and store in the fridge.)
• Up to an hour before serving, set the pastry rectangles on a baking sheet and spread each with a thin layer of onion. Arrange the yellow peppers, aubergine and tomatoes on top. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little basil oil and bake for 5-8 minutes until warmed through. To serve, transfer to serving plates and pile a small handful of rocket on the side. Drizzle each portion with lemon juice and a little more basil oil.