I know, I know. I post a lot of tarts. That is because we genuinely eat a lot of tarts though. They are quick and easy to assemble, (especially if you use store-bought crust, although I rarely do), endlessly versatile, and make a great light lunch or side for something... and I like them. This one was a case of "what do we have in the fridge?" and taking as little time out from decorating the Christmas tree with the family as possible. I also liked that, completely by accident, the colours were Christmasy.
For the crust, I used some of my home-made lemon vinegar instead of water as the liquid, feeling that the flavour would go well with the courgette.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c butter, cold
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp zaatar
1/2 leek, cut in rounds
1 courgette, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 1/2 - 2 c ricotta
2 tsp sumac
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1) Place flour in a large mixing bowl and cut the butter into it. Rub the flour and butter together with fingertips until a crumby consistency is achieved. Add vinegar and mix, without kneading, to form a dough. Chill for about a half hour.
2) Roll out the crust and line a pie plate with it. Spread with a layer of ricotta and sprinkle with half the sumac. Lay rounds of leek over the ricotta, then arrange courgette and pepper over that. Spoon the remaining ricotta over the whole, and sprinkle the remaining sumac, thyme, salt and pepper over the tart.
3) Bake at 180°C for about a half hour.
This made an excellent, easy and tasty lunch. I didn't have as long as I would have liked to drain the ricotta, and was worried that the tart would come out too wet as a result, but it didn't. It was lovely and light, with beautiful distinct flavours, all playing nice together. Definitely a keeper!