Vegetable Tart with Saffron Mayonnaise
This dish is the French interpretation of Imam bayildi, a traditional Turkish stuffed eggplant. To me, it’s the best of both worlds. One thing I love about this tart is that the “crust” is simply made of onions: there’s no rolling or weighing involved. The layered vegetables are gloriously caramelized, not to mention just as pretty as a more traditional tart.
Ingrediënten
Serves 4 to 6 as a side
- TART
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 2 medium white onions thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tomatoes Early Girl or Roma preferred, thinly sliced
- 1 medium zucchini thinly sliced
- 1 small Japanese eggplant thinly sliced
- Salt
- 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
SAFFRON MAYO (OPTIONAL)
- ½ teaspoon Spanish saffron threads
- Mother-Sauce Mayo this page
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructies
- It helps to know: This recipe requires an 8- to 9-inch baking dish.
- If you don’t have a dish that large, you can use two small pie pans or halve the recipe.
- To make the “tart,” in a large pan on medium heat, stir together the olive oil, onions, garlic, and thyme.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and lightly caramelized, about 20 minutes.
- Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Spread the onion mixture over the bottom of your baking dish to form a “crust.
- ” Layer the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant in a cascading circle on top of the onions.
- Alternate between the vegetables starting at the outside and working your way to the center.
- It can be as pretty or as haphazard as you want, as long as the vegetables remain in one layer.
- Drizzle the surface with olive oil, top with a couple large pinches of salt, and bake until the top is nicely browned and caramelized, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to make the mayo, lightly toast the saffron in a small, dry pan on medium heat, shaking the pan until the saffron becomes fragrant and starts to lightly brown, about 1 minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add 2 tablespoons water.
- The pan will sizzle and the water will turn a vibrant orange.
- Let cool to room temperature, then whisk the saffron water into your mayo, and stir in lemon juice to taste.
- Remove the dish from your oven and let cool to room temperature.
- Top with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and carve into slices like a pie.
- Serve the slices on their own or with the saffron mayo on the side.
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