A delicious savoury tart combining the creaminess of Comté cheese with fresh sweet zucchini.
This recipe is one of a collection of three tarts using Comté cheese and fresh seasonal vegetables.
Sponsored post for Comté Cheese.
I was contacted by Comté and asked to prepare a recipe using their cheese with seasonal produce for the summer.
So I created three types of savoury tarts: a zucchini tart (recipe below), a French Tomato Tart and a Fennel Tart.
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What exactly is Comté cheese?
Comté cheese is a protected PDO cheese from the beautiful mountainous Jura Massif area of Eastern France where for more than 10 centuries they have lovingly produced this very fine and unique cheese.
Comté is not only one of France’s most loved cheeses, but one of the most popular in the world.
Today over 2,500 family farms tend to more than 150,000 of the Montbéliarde and French Simmental breeds of cows.
Each of these cows are allowed to roam freely on at least one hectare of beautiful fertile ground where they graze and feed on natural grasses and harvested hay.
Their rich, varied and nutritious diet plays an important part in producing an excellent quality of raw milk.
The production of Comté cheese is still very much based on the original co-operative approach and the artisan traditions that it was founded upon.
Fresh deliveries of raw milk arrive daily from local dairies within an 8 mile radius and new cheeses are produced every day of the year in over 150 small village cheese dairies called ‘les fruitières‘.
Once the wheels of cheese are produced, they are moved immediately to one of the 13 ‘affinage‘ houses in the region (each with its own maturing methods), where it is aged for a minimum of 4 months to around 24 months, sometimes more.
The taste of Comté
Comté cheese is produced from the raw milk of extremely well nourished cows which graze across wide fields, allowing them a rich and varied diet.
As a result, it is possible to detect around 83 recognised aromatic descriptors in the cheeses.
This makes Comté an ideal cheese to pair with many different dishes, creating truly unique flavours.
It is this characteristic that makes Comté such a favourite amongst chefs, culinary experts and foodies.
Zucchini with Comté
This tart is beautifully rich and creamy with a little sweetness from the sautéed zucchini.
Perfect for a light lunch or for a picnic, it is also a great make ahead dish, as it tastes even better the next day, after the flavours have had time to really come together.
Add as much cheese as you like!
Zucchini tart and slab of Comté cheese[/caption]
How to make it
- Prepare the filling by lightly frying the zucchini.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream, cheese and nutmeg.
- Prepare the pastry and pre-bake it according to the instructions above.
- Brush the pastry with egg wash to prevent leakage.
- Arrange a layer of zucchini slices to cover the base of the pastry and top with the cheese mixture.
- Bake the tart for 15 minutes or until the filling is set or light golden.
Tips for rolling the pastry
- Keep the pastry dough chilled until it is required.
- Lightly roll out the dough. Do not press too hard or the dough will stretch and this will cause shrinkage while cooking.
- Roll away from you rather than moving back and forth in different directions.
- Carefully lift the dough with the help of the rolling pin, and place over the tart case.
- Very lightly press the dough into the case so that it hangs over the edges. Then, using a rolling pin, gently press on the rim (these parts will fall off while cooking, so place a baking tray under the tart case).
To blind bake
- Using a fork, prick holes in the bottom of the pastry.
- If the kitchen is warm and the pastry has become slightly sticky, chill for 15-30 minutes.
- Cover the pastry with parchment paper and a flat layer of baking beans or rice.
- Bake at 170℃/330℉ for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove the parchment paper with the beans.
- Turn the oven down to 150℃/300℉, and heat for a further 10 minutes.
- Brush an egg wash to seal the pastry and prevent leakage before adding the filling.
Serving
While the tart is still warm, garnish with freshly torn basil leaves to release the fragrant oils from the basil leaves.
Then serve the tart while it is still warm or at room temperature.
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Are you making this Zucchini Comté Tart? Do let me know how it turned out in the comments! And please give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Zucchini & Comté Tart
Ingredients
- shortcrust pastry - (or pastry dough) 500 grams
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- zucchini - sliced 2 medium
- eggs 2
- cream - ½ cup 120 grams
- Comté cheese - grated, choose a less mature Comté ¾ cup
- nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon
- salt 1 teaspoon
- freshly ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon
- egg - beaten 1
- basil leaves a few
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté 2 medium zucchini slices till soft. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine 2 eggs, 120 grams cream, ¾ cup Comté cheese and ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg.
Prepare the pastry
- Preheat fan oven to 170℃/330℉, non-fan 190℃/375℉
- Roll out 500 grams shortcrust pastry (see notes below)
- Grease a 9-inch tart case and line with the pastry, pressing down and into then corners gently, ensuring pastry comes up slightly over the sides. (see notes below).
- Use a fork to make holes in the bottom of the pastry, cover with parchment paper and cover with a layer of baking beans or rice. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the parchment paper and baking beans and turn down the oven to fan 150℃/300℉ (non-fan 170℃/330℉). Return the pastry to the oven and bake for further 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk 1 egg and brush the egg wash over the pastry to prevent leakage then bake for a further 2 minutes.
- Allow the pastry to cool then layer the zucchini slices so the pastry base is completely covered.
- Pour the cheese mixture over the top and bake at fan 170℃/330℉ (non-fan 190℃/375℉) for 15 minutes till the filling has set and is light golden. Garnish with a few basil leaves and serve immediately or at room temperature.
Notes
- Keep the pastry dough chilled until it is required.
- Lightly roll out the dough. Do not press too hard or the dough will stretch and this will cause shrinkage while cooking.
- Roll away from you rather than moving back and forth in different directions.
- Carefully lift the dough with the help of the rolling pin, and place over the tart case.
- Very lightly press the dough into the case so that it hangs over the edges. Then, using a rolling pin, gently press on the rim (these parts will fall off while cooking).
- Using a fork, prick holes in the bottom of the pastry.
- If the kitchen is warm and the pastry has become slightly sticky, chill for 15-30 minutes.
- Cover the pastry with parchment paper and a flat layer of baking beans or rice.
- Bake at fan 170℃/330℉ (non-fan 190℃/375℉), for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove the parchment paper with the beans.
- Turn the oven down to fan 150℃/300℉ (non-fan 170℃/330℉). Return the pastry to the oven and bake for further 10 minutes., and heat for a further 10 minutes.
- Brush an egg wash to seal the pastry and prevent leakage before adding the filling.
Only you will see your notes and you can edit them anytime.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically per serving and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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