Adapted from Gaia's Kitchen,by Julia Ponsonby. Roasted red peppers and eggplants provide the filling in this wonderful Mediterranean tart. In contrast to a regular quiche, no eggs or milk are included in the filling. Instead, there is rich base of cream cheese and basil, while either mozzarella or goat’s cheese melts luxuriously over the vegetables. This recipe has the advantage that you can prepare the various elements in advance and then assemble it at the last moment.
03Grind or crush the walnuts fairly finely, then stir these into the butter/flour mixture.
04Next add the tahini, egg and water and mix until everything binds together.
05Divide the dough into the number of tarts you are making.
06Roll each portion into a ball and pat down a little.
07Chill in the fridge for about half an hour while you get on with preparing the vegetables.
08Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until it is about 3/16" thick.
09Because it is so short (i. e. buttery), it may be difficult to line your lightly oiled flan tin with one piece, but you can push it into place with your fingers.
10Pre-bake for 15-20 minutes in a moderate to low oven, or until the pastry has become quite firm, but is not yet browning.
11Slice the eggplants into circles measuring about 3/8" thick.
12Quarter these.
13Toss salt over the eggplants and leave for half an hour to sweat.
14Afterwards rinse them and leave to drain in a colander, either pressing or patting out excess moisture.
15Spread out on a baking tray and massage generously with olive oil.
16Season with a little dried oregano or basil and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring half way through.
17While the eggplants are roasting, you can begin preparing the bell peppers.
18Slice these into 3/8" wide strips the full length of each pepper.
19As with the eggplant, place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil.
20Sprinkle with a little black pepper and oregano or basil.
21Cook for 30-40 minutes at 400F.
22Peel and finely slice about two-thirds of the garlic, and stir this into the cooking peppers when you give them a midway stir.
23When the roast vegetables are ready they can be combined, and the excess olive oil drained off and kept to add to the cream cheese later – or for making a vinaigrette.
24If you intend to assemble the tart later on, keep the roast vegetables in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
25Final preparation: Crush the rest of the garlic and mix this into the cream cheese along with half the chopped fresh basil, pesto, tomato puree, a teaspoonful of Dijon mustard and the reserved roasting oil.
26Season with a little salt and black pepper.
27Spread out this mixture evenly in the bottom of the walnut pastry cases.
28Mix the rest of the basil with the roast vegetables, and spread them over the cream cheese mixture.
29Slice the goat’s cheese and/or soft mozzarella into generous rounds, perhaps averaging 3/16" thick.
30Place six to eight pieces of cheese decoratively on top of each tart.
31Place in a pre-heated moderate oven (350F) for 30-40 minutes – as long as it takes for the tart to warm up and the cheese to melt and brown a little.
32When the cheese is looking an inviting golden brown in patches and all is hot – even sizzling – remove from the oven.
33Slip off the edges of the flan tin (if detachable) before serving.
34Serve with a green salad, and perhaps new potatoes fresh with garden mint.