Zucchini (Courgette) Goat Cheese Tart

I bought zucchini in August. That’s right. I bought it.

Who does that??? Well, apparently, I do.

This is the time of year when people are overrun with zucchini and it’s not unusual to find yourself with a few left on your doorstep courtesy of a desperate gardening neighbour who has taken to dropping off buckets full in the middle of the night!

But, while we were in the Okanagan we came across yellow zucchini – something I’ve only seen once before in a Chinese restaurant in Toronto. I really loved the flavour of it so… yes… I bought zucchini in August when the rest of the world is trying to give it away on street corners.

I actually buy zucchini (or courgettes as they are referred to in England) all through the year. Sauté it in a little butter and garlic or dill and…mmmm… simple perfection!

When I got back from our Okanagan trip I wanted to use my yellow zucchini in a rustic tart along with the garlic and dill chevre I bought from Carmelis. And again, the tip here is simplicity. This time of year, veggies and fruit are at their prime – full of flavour and ripe straight from the fields so you want to let those flavours shine right through.

This was made with a sheet of puff pastry, spread with goat cheese and topped with sliced zucchini. Simply brush on some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pop it in the oven and you end up with a beautiful, rustic looking, delicious tart that works great as an appetizer or a side. You can serve it warm or cold and it will be tasty either way!

Zucchini Goat Cheese Tart

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Melissa Hartfiel

Recipe type: appetizer or side dish

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
⅓ cup flour
2-3 small yellow or green zucchinis (or courgettes as they are referred to in England)
3-4 oz of goat chevre of your choice - I used a dill garlic one for this tart
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F
lightly four a surface and roll out your puff pastry into a 12x12 sheet and place it on a parchment covered baking tray
using a sharp knife, score a line all the way around the pastry about a ½ inch from the edge (be careful not to cut all the way through)
dot bits of the goat chevre over the surface of the pastry (except for the ½ inch border you scored). Chevre can be a little difficult to spread, especially on uncooked dough so I find the method of dotting it over the pastry till it's covered works best
slice the zucchini into slices about ½ cm thick and place on the chevre covered pastry. You can lay them out as I have in the photos or you can layer them slightly - whatever you like.
pop in the oven for 10 minutes and then take out and brush the zucchini and pastry with olive oil
sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
return to oven for 20 minutes or until pastry starts to turn golden. I find cooking times for puff pastry can vary widely and it can quickly go from golden to burnt so keep an eye on it once it hits that 20 minutes mark