I had the very best Eggplant Parmigiana pie from Bread Club in Albert Park a few weeks ago. I was inspired to make something similar. This larger pie to feed a crowd with the addition of ricotta is a little bit more akin to a Pasta Alla Norma, a Sicilian pasta dish made with eggplant & ricotta salata or fresh ricotta, hence the name Tart Alla Norma.
I used flaky store bought puff pastry to make this tart. I recommend Careme Spelt Wholemeal Butter Puff Pastry, not sponsored, it just has the best ingredients by miles. Spelt flour has a higher protein & mineral content than wheat flour & a lovely nutty flavour. If you do go with another puff pastry, make sure its butter puff. Other puff pastry is made with canola or vegetable oil. Seed oils, while difficult to avoid all the time should be avoided as much as humanly possible. Seed oils create mitochondrial dysfunction that inevitably leads to all sorts of conditions including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, autoimmune conditions, coronary heart disease, cancers, Alzheimer’s, age-related macular degeneration etc, etc. A lot of the time when I talk to clients about seed oils they assume that they don’t eat them but if we take a look in their pantry & fridge they find it is in many of the foods that they buy. It really requires special attention to reading labels of everything that you purchase to keep seed oil consumption to a minimum.
Eggplant, zucchini & basil are in season at the moment in Melbourne & taste better now than any other time of the year, as opposed to when they have to travel miles to get to us. Eating seasonally means we are getting what we need in correlation to the thermal nature of the season i.e., hydrating watery fruits & vegetables in summer & warming root vegetables & brassicas that require slower & longer cooking times when we need warming up in the wintertime. Food grown locally & seasonally catches the light codes and energetic charge that we need at that point in time. This can be affirmed when we look at deuterium, also known as “heavy hydrogen,” is a heavy isotope of hydrogen. Deuterium/hydrogen ratio has a key role in cell cycle regulation and cellular metabolism. Excess deuterium in the body is associated with disease. The level of deuterium that is in food changes with seasons to match the UV at that time i.e. eggplant eaten in season in February - April will have the right deuterium level to maintain health during that time of year. Which just goes to show that living our lives in sync with the rhythms of nature is the easiest & simplest way to maintain optimal health. One could argue, the only way.
This tart serves 6-8 & is best served with a salad
Ingredients
1 sheet of puff pastry - I recommend Careme Spelt Wholemeal Butter Puff Pastry, if using another brand you may need two sheets.
Filling
1 eggplant (about 350-400g)
1 zucchini (about 350-400g)
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of passata
Olive oil
1 tsp of lake or sea salt
15 grinds of freshly cracked pepper
2 tsp dried oregano (Greek oregano on dried on the branches is best)
Handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (or a handful of fresh oregano, thyme & basil combined)
Topping
½ cup of pesto
500g of ricotta
½ cup of milk
40g of parmesan (Reggiano or grana Padano), grated
80g of cheddar cheese, grated
Salt & pepper to taste
Extra parmesan, basil & pepper to serve
Method
Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan forced.
Remove puff pastry from freezer to defrost.
Cube zucchini, red onion & eggplant into 1-2cm cubes. Sprinkle with flaky salt & drizzle with olive oil & bake for 40 minutes or until eggplant is golden & cooked through.
In a saucepan heat a glug of olive oil & add the garlic & oregano & cook for one minute on medium heat, don’t let the garlic brown or it’ll taste bitter! Add the passata & the salt & cook for 3 minutes, add the baked veg & cook for another minute or two. Turn off the heat & add the fresh herbs, Set aside.
Line a 23cm tart tin with a sheet of unbleached baking paper. Place the puff pastry in tin cutting away the pieces that overhang & using those pieces to fill in the gaps. Using a fork, poke holes in the base of the pastry. Blind bake the pastry at 180C for 15 minutes, have a look halfway through, if the sides of the pastry are slipping then use a fork to press them back to the side of the tin.
Meanwhile, blend the pesto, milk & ricotta until smooth, season with salt & pepper if needed.
In a separate bowl mix the cheddar & parmesan together.
To assemble the tart, pop the eggplant mix into the pastry, top with ricotta mix, then top with cheese mix.
Bake for 40 minutes or until golden on top.
Top with finely grated parmesan, freshly cracked pepper & basil.
References
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