I was inspired to make these vegetable tartlets after making a ratatouille. They are not exactly the same, but share some similar techniques and ingredients. These vegetable tartlets came out so beautiful, like little flowers. They are perfect for a holiday or special occasion appetizer, or a fancy breakfast.
They take some assembly, but it’s all very easy. They look much more complex than they actually are.
I used a store-bought pie dough, but feel free to make your own. I also used a disposable cupcake tin that came with cupcake papers included. It made this very easy.
I used my favorite squashes: a zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant. I also included a plum tomato as a base for the tart. In a ratatouille, I would use a seasoned thick tomato sauce.
For the innermost part of the “flower” I used an orange bell pepper cut into tiny strips. You can use whatever color bell pepper you choose.
These vegetable tartlets are really fun to make, and even more fun to eat. I’ve included a video so you can see exactly how I perform each step along the way. I hope you try them!
Vegetable Tartlet
Equipment
- 2 Cupcake tins
- Cupcake papers
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 plum tomato
- 1 prepared pie dough
- 3 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried Italian herb blend
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Slice the zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant lengthwise into long thin strips with a potato peeler. You may have to cut the eggplant into quarters lengthwise if it is too wide.
- Slice the bell pepper into thin strips, just long enough to be wider than the squash slices. Slice the plum tomato into thin rounds.
- With a rolling pin, roll the store-bought pie dough into a thin oblong shape. Take one of the cupcake papers and open it flat. Use it as a guide to cut round shapes of dough for each cupcake cavity.
- Place a cupcake paper into each round cavity. Put the pie dough rounds into each paper, folding the edge over the top to form small cups.
- In a small bowl combine olive oil, garlic, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper.
- Put a slice of tomato into the bottom of each cupcake round.
- Stack a slice of zucchini, eggplant, and yellow squash, then repeat zucchini, eggplant, and yellow squash.
- Add four slices of bell pepper at the top edge of each stack, and roll up the stacks tightly so that the bell pepper ends up sticking up from the middle. Insert them into each cupcake round. They should look like flowers.
- Drizzle each generously with the seasoned olive oil. Sprinkle with a little extra salt.
- Place the second cupcake tin face down on top of this tray to form a lid.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the pie dough is brown and flaky.
Video
Notes
