Rustic Courgette Pine Nut Ricotta Tart Recipes

COURGETTE & RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Cook the courgettes for 5 mins until golden around the edges, then remove from the pan and set aside. Mix the ricotta with the eggs, most of the basil, the nutmeg, Parmesan and garlic. Set aside.
• Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface - roll it out lightly to give an even surface. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and lay the pastry on top.
• Spread the pastry with the ricotta mix, leaving a border of 1cm around the edge, then press the courgette slices into the ricotta. Bring the pastry sides up over the edge of the filling and pinch so that none seeps out the sides.
• Bake for 30 mins until the tart is puffed up and golden. Serve warm, scattered with the remaining basil.

RUSTIC COURGETTE, PINE NUT & RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Sizzle the courgettes for 5 mins until golden around the edges, then set aside. In a bowl, beat the ricotta with the eggs, basil, nutmeg, half the Parmesan and the garlic. Set aside.
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rough round about 40cm wide, then transfer to a baking tray. Spread the pastry with the ricotta mix, leaving a 4cm border. Press the courgette slices into the ricotta, then scatter over the pine nuts and remaining Parmesan.
• Bring the sides up over the edge of the ricotta, pinch to encase the filling, then bake for 30 mins until the filling is puffed up and golden. Leave to cool slightly and enjoy warm or cold with a crisp green salad.

CREAMY RICOTTA TART WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3/4 cup of pine nuts, and salt until finely ground. Add the butter. Pulse dough just until it comes together.
• Place the dough into an 11-inch diameter tart pan with a removable bottom and press down to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Line the tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tart shell in the lower third of the oven until just set, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and pie weights. Bake until the tart shell is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.
• Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the water in a small saucepan over low heat. You don't want to boil the water, you just want to heat it so that the sugar can dissolve thoroughly. Stir until the sugar dissolves and remove from heat.
• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the ricotta cheese and cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, and process until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar syrup in a thin steady stream and process until smooth.
• Pour the custard into the tart shell and bake until the filling is almost set, about 20 to 25 minutes. Scatter the remaining 3/4 cup of toasted pine nuts atop the filling. Bake until the custard is set, about 10 minutes longer. Let the tart cool completely before serving.
• The tart can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Return the tart to room temperature before serving.

TART WITH ZUCCHINI, PROSCIUTTO, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup butter, 1 egg, sour cream, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl; knead until dough comes together. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Roll out dough into a 10-inch circle on a lightly floured work surface.
• Grease a 9-inch tart tin with 1 teaspoon butter. Press dough into the tart tin. Trim edges with a sharp knife. Place crust in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add zucchini; cook and stir until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Mix ricotta cheese and 1 egg together in a bowl. Fold in zucchini and Parmesan cheese gently.
• Sprinkle bread crumbs over chilled crust; cover with prosciutto slices. Spread ricotta-zucchini mixture evenly over prosciutto. Smooth the top with a spatula; sprinkle pine nuts on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until center is firm and top is golden, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

TORTA RUSTICA WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Alternatively, mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add butter, working the pieces into the flour with your hands, squeezing and pinching them until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Add egg, egg white and lemon zest, and pulse after each addition. If working by hand, whisk together egg, egg white and lemon zest in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture. Slowly add iced wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse or mix by hand until the dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather and press it into a ball. Divide into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other, and shape into disks. Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: If your ricotta seems watery, put it in a sieve and let it drain while you cook the spinach.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and a large pinch of salt, and continue to cook until spinach is very dry, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. If any liquid accumulates as the spinach sits, pour it out of the bowl (you don't want it to water down the ricotta).
• In a food processor, purée drained ricotta and eggs until just combined and smooth. Add to the bowl with the spinach and fold in mozzarella, pecorino, ham (if using), parsley, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red-pepper flakes and nutmeg. Set aside when rolling out dough (or chill for up to 4 hours).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pastry dough disk to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan. Scrape filling into crust and spread evenly. Roll out second pastry disk to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice on top of the filling. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top of the torta with the egg wash.
• Place torta on sheet pan and bake until crust is crisp and brown, and filling is firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before serving.