Roasted Vegetable Tart with Pepper Relish

Summer has arrived early at WordPress with this week’s challenge Summer.  New York City has seen rain all week-long with some very heavy downpours.  But, that hasn’t stopped the loads of zucchini and tomatoes available at roadside vegetable carts in my neighborhood.  I am sure everyone planning a barbecue party tomorrow on Memorial Day is hoping the rains don’t spoil the fun.  I bought a bag each of zucchinis and tomatoes and, of course, had no clue how I was going to use it.  Ratatouille…nah…. soup….nah….zucchini bread?? What about the tomatoes?  So, out came the tart pan and the result was a vegetable tart that looked stunning and tasted even better – just simple and tasty veggies that were delicious with the roasting intensifying the flavors.

What about the pepper relish?  That was an afterthought when I saw the pepper relish sitting on the counter.  That is my latest discovery and I’m addicted to it.  It is a perfect relish for sandwiches and I even added it to a marinade (that recipe is for another time).  I could simply dig the spoon into the jar and enjoy the stuff. I guess I must return to the store and buy all the Pepper Relish I can find before others discover this delicious stuff.

It was very simple to assemble as you can see from the pictures.  I used 2 medium-sized zucchinis, 2 medium-sized tomatoes, 2 onions, and 2 potatoes – all medium-sized.  All the veggies were washed and sliced evenly into rounds.  I thawed a store-bought pie crust and blind baked it for a few minutes and set it aside to cool.  You can assemble them however you like I guess, I just assembled it in circles.  Drizzled extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground coarse black pepper.  Snipped off some fresh herbs from the backyard and threw in a few sprigs of oregano and thyme.  Into a 425-degree oven went the tart pan, and the tart was done in about 45 minutes.

This tart is very light and healthy unlike the cream/milk and cheese laden heavier vegetable tarts.  Of course, this is a basic tart and will work well with mushrooms, carrots, parsnips, etc.

Then, the best part of the tart, Pepper Relish.  I thinned out a few teaspoons of the relish with warm water and drizzled it on the warm roasted veggies. The warm veggies absorbed the peppery goodness.  I did not return the tart to the oven because I thought the pepper may spew hot smoke – and I might have to save the situation.  Well, the tart was delicious and devoured  as soon as it was cool enough to handle.

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