Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart

Last night, to celebrate the arrival of my new food processor, I attempted Ellie Krieger's Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart from her cookbook The Food You Crave.  I think it came out well, and the hubby really enjoyed it.  I liked it, but I didn't love it.  When I make it again, I think I need to spice it up a bit to give it some extra oomph.  But, it was good as was, and certainly fun to make!

Ingredients:

For the crust:
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour (I used whole-wheat flour)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
3 tbsp. water

For the filling:
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil (I ended up forgetting to use some oil at one point, whoops)
2 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup) (I substituted a quarter of a large yellow onion here, finely chopped in the food processor - I might use more next time)
Cooking spray
1 small eggplant (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
1 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/8-inch-thick-rounds
3 medium ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. salt (totally forgot)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (totally forgot)
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3 oz.) (I used more because cheese is delicious)
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil (I used 1/8 cup dried basil)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine the cornmeal, flour, and salt in a food processor and pulse to incorporate.

Add the butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until the mixture resembles small pebbles (it looked more like wet sand to me).

Add the water and pulse until the mixture forms a loose dough.

Remove the dough from the processor and press into the bottom and about 1/8 inch up the sider of a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable rim (I used a 9.5 inch glass pie plate and it worked out fine). 

Press aluminum foil into the bottom and up the sides of the pan on top of the dough.  Weigh it down with uncooked rice or pie weights.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove the rice and foil and bake for another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool. 

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

To prepare the filling, heat 1 tsp. of the oil in a small nonstick pan (doesn't have to be nonstick) over medium heat; cook the shallots (or onion if you're me), stirring, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.

Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.  Arrange the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato slices on the sheets in a single layer and brush with the remaining 2 tbsp. oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

(I did this totally different.  I forgot to use the oil, salt, and pepper completely.  I also found I had way more veggies than could fit on just two baking sheets, so I did them in shifts; two sheets of eggplant, one sheet of zucchini, and then two of tomatoes.  I also found the cooking time to be WAY off.  It only took about 4-5 minutes for the veggies to reach the desired softness.  Maybe this is because the food processor sliced the veggies fairly thin?  See eggplant example below.)

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Lay the eggplant slices on the bottom of the tart, overlapping them if necessary; cover with 1/4 cup of the mozzarella and some of the shredded basil.  Add the zucchini and shallots (onions), top with another 1/4 cup of the mozzarella and the remaining basil, then the tomatoes.

Top with the last 1/4 cup mozzarella (I added more after that until it "looked right" - I really like cheese) and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Bake until the cheese is melted and the vegetables have further wilted, about 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, and cut into 8 slices. Serve warm

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)