Tarte Provencale Recipes

PROVENçAL TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, put the flour in a bowl with the butter, then rub together to resemble breadcrumbs. Stir in the basil, oregano and sundried tomatoes, then pour in the olive oil and about 4 tbsp cold water to make a soft dough (it will be a bit softer than regular pastry). Wrap in cling film and chill for one hour.
• While the pastry is chilling, make the sauce. Halve, seed, then dice the peppers and reserve half for the filling. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic, oregano and peppers and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers start to soften. Tip in the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer over a medium heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until reduced to a thick sauce. Stir frequently so it doesn't stick. Season well and set aside to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/ gas 6. For the filling, line a baking sheet with parchment or greaseproof paper, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil and lay the aubergines slices over it. Drizzle the rest of the oil over the top - it seems a lot, but it all gets soaked up - then scatter with the dried basil and some salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the slices look golden, and are tender when poked with a knife.
• Roll out the pastry to a circle, about 40cm, and use to line a 28cm fluted flan tin (preferably loose-bottomed). Bend the pastry over the edges and trim with scissors so you have a 1-2cm overhang. Put the tin on a baking sheet. Prick the pastry base, brush it with egg if you wish to give a crisper crust, and bake blind for 10 minutes (there's no need for baking beans).
• Spread the sauce evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Lay the aubergines on top, then the sliced tomatoes and a good handful of chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Now scatter with the reserved peppers and olives, then the grated cheeses, right up to the edges.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Let the tart cool a little, then trim off the pastry edges with a sharp knife for a neat finish.

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.

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.