Savory Summer Tart with Easy No-Roll Tart Crust

Savory Summer Tart is the perfect dish for a summer picnic. It tastes great at any temperature. And the heavy lifting can be done a day ahead, so you can just relax on the day of your picnic.

Slice and roast the vegetables on a half-sheet pan, cool to room temperature, cover with lid or foil and refrigerate till the next day, if you like. Whip up the easy pastry, press it (yes, I said "press it") into the pan and pop it into the freezer until you're ready to assemble the tart and bake it.

If you've been not making tarts because you don't like to roll out pastry (as described here for the sweet version in Lemon Tart), you'll love this pastry. It's exactly the same dough I roll out, but you can just press it in the pan and it will come out exactly the same as if you'd rolled it.

(You might also want to try my no-roll pie crust used in my Blackberry Cobbler.)

What's a picnic without wine, right? I've been trying to find the perfect summer picnic wine, and I think I have. Besides having the right flavor and weight, this refreshing rosé called Gioia, has a screw cap; and if that's not handy on a picnic, I don't know what is!

Call me old-fashioned, but I love a nice wicker picnic hamper, a tablecloth and real dishes and glasses for a picnic. My wicker hamper holds all the accoutrements, while the food stays at a safe temperature in an insulated cooler. Put a larger picnic blanket on the ground before putting down the tablecloth. And a few cushions might not go amiss either!

Savory Summer Tart 

(Makes one 9-inch/23cm tart, 8 servings) 

The Vegetables

2 smallish to medium (2- to 2.5-inch diameter) tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 medium bell pepper, cut vertically into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/8-inch rounds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

The Pastry - Pâte Brisée (a savory shortcrust pastry) 

1 1/2 dip-and-sweep cups (7.5 ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk (reserve the white for the filling)
1 tablespoon water, milk or cream 

The Filling 

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese* or crumbled fresh goat cheese
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces/118 ml) milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 

* I like to use a mixture, including a couple tablespoons of Parmesan. 

1 Preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. Line a half-sheet pan or other large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Spread prepared vegetables on parchment. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, marjoram and red pepper flakes. Turn vegetables to coat with oil, placing tomatoes skin side down. Roast for 20 minutes. Let stand at room temperature to cool completely. 

Tip: Can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated. 

2 Add flour and salt to work bowl of food processor; turn on for about 3 or 4 seconds to combine. Add chunks of butter; pulse to a crumb texture. Add egg yolk and cream; pulse until the dough starts clumping together. This is to be a crisp, more cookie-like crust, rather than a flaky pastry; so there's not quite the concern about over-processing. 

3 Lightly butter a 9-inch/23cm tart tin (1-inch deep) and set it on a baking sheet. Take 2/3 of the dough and press it evenly around the sides of the tin. Put the remaining 1/3 of the dough in the bottom and press it with your hand into an even layer. Using a straight-sided, round stainless steel measuring cup coated with a little flour, press it against bottom and sides to compact and smooth out the dough. Pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas5.

4 Cover chilled pastry with a piece of foil, pressing it to fit well. Spread 2 cups of ceramic pie weights (that's two packages of Mrs. Anderson's ceramic pie weights), also called ceramic baking beans in the UK, over the foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights; continue baking for 10 minutes, until lightly browned to a pale golden. Cool completely on wire rack.

5 While pastry is cooling, make the filling. In small bowl (I use a 2-cup glass measure), whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined. Let stand until pastry is ready. 

6 Turn oven temperature down to 350F/180C/Gas4. Arrange roasted and cooled vegetables in prebaked and cooled pastry shell. Cover with shredded cheese. Pour in filling. Bake (with tart tin on baking sheet) for about 30 to 35 minutes, until filling is set and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before removing from tin and cutting. Allow to cool for about an hour to serve at room temperature.

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