roasted cauliflower tart

Almost as soon as my fork hit the plate after finishing a piece of this squash tart, my mind was spinning with other vegetable tart possibilities. I remembered this tart and I decided to put a tart together using elements of Deb’s version (which for some reason I remembered as being fairly labour intensive but reading the recipe, I didn’t really see why), last week’s squash tart and this lovely tart from Luisa. I toyed with using the polenta crust but in the end I went with my tried and true pastry crust. I roasted sliced cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and some pepper. While that was roasting I sauted 3 diced shallots with some sage and made the crust. I spread some mustard over the tart shell, then layered on grated smoked gouda, the roasted cauliflower in a single layer, sprinkled the sagey shallots over the top and poured an egg/yogurt mixture over it all and topped with finely grated parmesan. The result was everything I'd hoped for although my husband did suggest tossing in a few toasted pine nuts next time for some crunch.

Roasted Cauliflower Tart (with lots of inspiration)
1 medium sized cauliflower, sliced
olive oil, pepper
3 shallots, diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp dried sage
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 c grated smoked gouda
2 large eggs
1 c thick greek style plain yogurt
1/4 c finely grated parmesan

Tart dough
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
125 g cold butter, diced
1 egg
2-4 tbsp cold water

Slice the cauliflower head (stripped of all greenery and most of the stem), into 1/2" slices. Place in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper. Roast at 425 deg F for about 10 minutes until a bit brown on one side. Toss to mix.

Saute the shallots in the butter until translucent. Add the sage and garlic and cook for another minute. Set aside.

Make the tart dough by combining the flour and salt in a food processor. Whiz briefly to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is spread throughout the flour in a chunky texture. Beat the egg and 2 tbsp of water together and pulse into the mixture. Add water, little bits at a time until the dough just comes together. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and roll into a circle large enough to fill a pie plate. Ease the dough into the pie plate, roll off the excess and dimple the bottom of the pie with your fingertips. Brush the mustard over the bottom of the pie as evenly as possible.

Add the grated cheese over the bottom of the pie as evenly as possible. Add the cauliflower in a single layer over the cheese (any leftover make a nice nibble for the cook!).

Spread the shallots over the cauliflower, distributing them as evenly as you can. Mix the eggs and yogurt together and pour over the pie - shaking slightly to even out the top. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top.

Bake at 400 deg F for 40-50 minutes or until the top starts to brown in places. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.

I had a bit of dough, cauliflower and cheese left over so I made a little pie with a layer of the grated gouda, cauliflower and a sprinkling of parmesan. A good tidbit for someone's lunch.