Ratatouille Veggie Tart with Pesto and Goat Cheese

What makes this dish special?

All right y’all. This Ratatouille Tart is really one of my signature dishes and it came about by accident. I was searching for something vegetarian to add to my menu for an appetizer style dinner party I was hired to do. Personally, I was in kind of a vegetarian phase of my life anyway and roasted a lot of veggies during the week, so I just decided to take a few and make a veggie tart out of it. It was a hit.

But what makes it special? It’s the puff pastry. I don’t skimp on that part. I’ve discovered this amazing brand, Dufour, which is pricey but it’s really worth it. All butter, it yields a really flakey gorgeous crust every time. For a deeper dive on puff pastry and tips on how to cook with it see my blog post here.

Puff Pastry Brand I love:

DuFour Puff Pastry

Also, what ‘makes’ the dish special is the finishing touches. The pesto and balsamic drizzle. They really tie it all together with the herbal flavor of the basil and the sweet pop of acidity from the balsamic glaze. I make my own pesto (see below for recipe), but a good quality store bought one is fine, too. You know my motto, it’s all about the presentation. These little details make the difference.

Finishing Touches:

Pesto

Balsamic Vinegar

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Ratatouille is a Mediterranean dish that usually combines eggplant, bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and tomato with herbs. I omitted the onion and bell pepper and switched it up for butternut squash, but you can use whatever combination you like. Make it yours.

Ratatouille Tart

Ingredients:

Tart

1 pkg puff pastry – defrosted according to the instructions on the box *only need 1 sheet for this recipe
1 egg
4- oz goat cheese (softened at room temp)
6 Campari tomatoes
1 medium zucchini
½ small eggplant
¼ butternut squash
Olive oil
1/2 cup Fontina/gruyere cheese shredded
Pesto (for garnish)
Balsamic reduction (for garnish)
Basil (garnish)
Salt & Pepper

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil
1 large clove garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2/3 cup olive oil

Method:

Prep

Make pesto by combining all the ingredients except the olive oil in the base of the food processor. Pulse to combine and chop and then stream in the olive oil and emulsify until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (can be done several days ahead).
Preheat oven to 375 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. (can be done a day ahead)
Wash veggies and cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch pieces. Too thin and they will fall apart in the oven. Peel the outer skin of the butternut squash and, either by hand or on a mandolin, slice the zucchini, eggplant and squash into even pieces about 1/8 of an inch thick. Toss veggies with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake until tender. The tomatoes have more water content and will fall apart if they go too long so be careful with those. I roast mine on a smaller sheet pan so I can remove them first. Set aside all veggies to cool or cover and refrigerate.
Next, par bake the puff pastry. Preheat oven to 400 (or 425 if your oven runs low or loses heat). Very important to preheat the oven fully and also to keep your dough chilled. I also preheat the baking sheet that the tart pan will sit on.
Grease your rectangular tart pan or small tartlet pans. Whatever you are using. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into appropriate shape based on the pan using (with lots of overhang as it will shrink considerably in the oven). Fit dough into the pan(s) then prick all over with a fork and brush with an egg wash. (egg and 1 tsp or so of water). Return dough to the fridge for 30 minutes before baking or 10-15 minutes in the freezer).
Bake on the lower rack of the oven for approximately 18-20 minutes or until puffy and browned along the edges but not soft or sticky looking on the bottom anymore. Remove from sheet pan and cool on a rack.

Assembly

Assemble tart by sprinkling or gently spreading goat cheese on the bottom layer of the tart. Then top with roasted veggies in layers. Be generous with the veggies as it all kind of cooks down a bit on final baking. Top with shredded cheese. The tart can be covered and refrigerated at this point but don’t do the final reheating/baking until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake tart on a baking sheet until the top cheese is melted and veggies are warmed through. Serve with a drizzle of pesto and balsamic reduction and fresh basil for garnish.

Presentation

You can use any kind of pan shape you like but I really like the way this looks when cooked in a rectangular tart pan and then cut into about 6 slices. I lay a little pesto down on the plate, then top with the tart and then drizzle a little more pesto on the side and a few dots of the balsamic glaze. Either tuck a basil leaf in there for garnish or chop and place on top. Here’s the pan I recommend:

Rectangular Tart Pan