Milk Street’s Christopher Kimball is a wealth of information when it comes to cooking tricks and techniques. For this elegant, yet deceptively simple, late-summer vegetable tart, featured in Milk Street’s new cookbook, “Cookish: Throw It Together” (Voracious; $35) Kimball uses frozen puff pastry as well as za’atar, the Middle Eastern herb blend, to elevate the dish.
Another tip: Poking holes in the center of the rolled-out pastry moderates the puffiness, he says. Just leave a one-inch border around the edges so the pastry forms a light, crisp outer crust.
Milk Street’s Tomato-Zucchini Tart
Ingredients
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon za’atar
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
¾ cup zucchini, thinly sliced or asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1-inch pieces
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
½ cup crumbled feta cheese or finely-grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
Chopped fresh mint or basil, optional
Directions
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment.
Combine the oil, za’atar, tomatoes, zucchini and onion with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Roll the pastry into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle, then place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a fork, poke holes all over the pastry, leaving a 1-inch (unpoked) border at the edges.
Top evenly with half the feta and all of the vegetable mixture, avoiding the edges. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Top with remaining feta and drizzle with oil. Top with chopped fresh mint or fresh basil, if desired.
— From Milk Street’s “Cookish: Throw it Together” (Voracious; $35) by Christopher Kimball
