Zucchini Cheese Tart

While working through re-posting as many of my pre-site-crash recipes as I was able to recover, I came across this very rare find – a baked good that a) does not include any kind of chocolate and b) is savory. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy baking savory items, many of the processes are identical to baking sweet items, it is very simply that I have an absolutely insatiable sweet tooth and decadent desserts and sweet breakfasts are always going to be my first choice.

In the case of this tart, our garden had produced an over abundance of zucchini that year. I had already made multiple variations on zucchini muffins, cakes, quick breads, and brownies and still barely made a dent in our garden’s zucchini largesse. Enter a tart that is loaded with both shredded and sliced zucchini and enriched with eggs, 3 kinds of cheese and bacon. It is decadent in its own way, and you can eat it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

Zucchini Cheese Tart

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, cheese, crust, feta, tart, zucchini

Servings: 6 slices

Ingredients

Pastry Crust (for 2 tarts):

• 2 ½ cup white whole wheat flour
• 6 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 9 tablespoon butter unsalted, very cold and cubed
• 1 egg yolk large
• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
• ¼ cup ice water

Filling:

• 700 gram shredded zucchini
• 100 gram thinly sliced zucchini
• 125 gram cream cheese softened
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 70 gram feta cheese
• 28 gram bacon pieces
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 clove garlic chopped or minced, divided use

Instructions

For the crust:

• Put flour, cold butter, parmesan cheese and garlic salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture forms pea sized crumbs.
  2 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour, 9 tablespoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, 6 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• Add the egg yolk and water and pulse until the dough begins to come together.
  1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup ice water
• Remove from the food processor and form into 2 equal disks. Wrap in cling film and put one in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, freeze the other for another time.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough to a thickness of 1/8" and gently fit into an 11 inch tart pan, trimming any excess from the edges.
• Dock the bottom of the crust and put in the preheated oven. Bake about 15 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool before adding the filling.

For the filling:

• Steam the sliced zucchini for 3 minutes, set aside to cool.
  100 gram thinly sliced zucchini
• Heat a sauté pan to med-high heat; add the 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 clove garlic. Lightly sauté the shredded zucchini. Remove from the pan, drain excess liquid and set aside to cool.
  700 gram shredded zucchini, 2 clove garlic
• If necessary add more oil and garlic to the pan. Place the sliced zucchini in the pan and season with salt and pepper. Fry briefly on each side until slightly caramelized, remove from the pan to cool.
  100 gram thinly sliced zucchini, 1 pinch salt, 2 clove garlic, 1 pinch black pepper
• Beat the cream cheese until smooth; add eggs one at a time and beat until fully combined. Beat in the milk. Stir in the feta, bacon pieces, and shredded zucchini. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  700 gram shredded zucchini, 125 gram cream cheese, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 70 gram feta cheese, 28 gram bacon pieces, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch black pepper
• Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Arrange the sliced zucchini over the top. Bake in the preheated oven about 20 – 25 minutes or until set in the center.
  100 gram thinly sliced zucchini