Savory tarts are fun to make and delicious as an appetizer or entree. They can be served room temperature or hot from the oven for almost any occasion. Portobello mushrooms are easy to find and when sauteed, are savory to the palate and can replace the heartiness of meat.
You can use any of your favorite crust recipes or use this one, which is my favorite. I combine butter and shortening to create a light and buttery crust, which pairs nicely with the eggplant-mushroom combination. You can always use a store bought crust if pressed for time.
Ingredients
Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, cold
3 tablespoons shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup ice water
Filling
1 eggplant, sliced in half
1 pound portobello mushrooms
1 shallot, minced
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt
pepper
olive oil
To Prepare:
1. In a stand mixer combine flour, semolina and salt.
2. Cut up the butter and shortening into 1-inch pieces and add it to the flour mixture.
3. Mix the flour-butter mixture on low speed until coarse crumbles.
4. Add the ice water to the flour mixture straining out the ice cubes.
5. Mix the dough on low until just combined and wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes until cold.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and roast the eggplant on a sheet pan for 50 minutes.
7. Scrape out the gills of the portobello mushrooms and chop finely.
8. Remove the eggplant from the oven and let cool. Scrape the roasted eggplant out of the skin and chop finely.
9. In a saute pan over medium heat add 3 tablespoons olive oil and add the portobello mushrooms, shallot and eggplant. Saute the mixture for 5 minutes until soft. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the mixture and stir to combine.
10. Chop the fresh basil and add it to the mushroom mixture, stir to combine. Turn off the heat and let the mushroom mixture cool for 10 minutes.
11. Next, whisk together the heavy cream and egg.
12. Add the cream mixture to the mushroom mixture and stir to combine, set aside.
13. Roll out the dough and par-bake the crust filled with pie weights for 12 minutes.
14. Remove the pie weights from the crust and put the crust back in the oven to bake an additional 10 minutes.
15. Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. Bake the crust for 20 minutes until golden brown.
16. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes or longer if serving at room temperature. Enjoy!
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