Despite using up half of the monster squash by making Zucchini Pesto Pancakes, I still had 1lb left to go. I decided to take advantage of making too much pesto the day before for the pancakes and whip up a Ricotta Cheese and Zucchini Tart with Potato Crust.
Basically I wanted to try the potato crust. I’d never tried anything like that before but it was really good, and would taste awesome as the base for a quiche because who doesn’t like a layer of crunchy potatoes in their meal? The tart was quite creamy and pesto-y which you can’t complain about, but the potato crust was definitely the standout in this dish. The tart feeds 4 people at $1.42 a slice.
Ricotta Cheese and Zucchini Tart with Potato Crust, from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food
3 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 large russet potato, peeled
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 small or 1 medium zucchini, or half the giant squash, sliced
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fresh pesto
3/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9-inch pie pan with 2 tablespoons of butter or some olive oil. Grate the potato and season it with salt and pepper. Place the grated potato inside some paper towels and squeeze out the excess water. The drier the potato, the better the crust will crisp.
Press the potato mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a thin crust. Bake the crust until it is golden brown and crisp, around 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and set it to the side, then lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Heat up the remaining butter or olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. When the butter or olive oil is hot, add the sliced zucchini and cook for a few minutes until the veggies are soft.
Stir together the ricotta, egg, and pesto, then season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked zucchini to the mix next. Depending on how much water was cooked out of the zucchini, adjust the amount of cream that you need to pour in the mixture. I think it is better to use less cream and have a drier tart than use too much cream and have it not set properly. Stir in the cream and mix everything together.
Place the ricotta and zucchini mixture into the cooked potato crust and put it in the oven. Cook the tart until it is set but still slightly jiggly in the middle, around 20 to 30 minutes. My tart had to stay in there a bit longer, so just keep an eye on it to make sure it is thoroughly cooked.
When the tart is finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let it cool down for a while. Letting the tart rest for a while allows for everything to set so you don’t make a mess of your tart when you try cutting it up (I did this the first time I cut a slice and made a huge mess of the slice).
You can serve your tart warm, or at room temperature. We heated up leftovers the next day in the microwave and the tart still tasted good.
