Sunday, February 05, 2012

Zucchini pie

Ingredients

250g Shortcrust pastry (Homemade or bought)
2–3 Courgettes, sliced diagonally
1 tbsp Olive oil
300g Cooked new potatoes, peeled & sliced
500g Tomatoes, sliced
100g Gruyère cheese, grated
Handful of basil leaves
3 eggs
200ml Crème fraîche
150ml Milk
4tbsp Grated parmesan

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the pastry to a 30cm round and use it to line a 20–22cm loose-based tart tin, allowing the pastry to hang over the edge of the tin. Rest the pastry for 20 minutes in the fridge.

Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans.
Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes until the pastry is pale golden/ brown. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.

Lightly brush the courgette slices with oil and season. Griddle on a BBQ pan until lightly charred on each side. Remove from the pan to cool.

Layer half the potatoes, courgettes and tomatoes in the pastry case, season  and sprinkle with a little gruyère and a few basil leaves. Repeat and finish with a layer of tomatoes.

Beat together the eggs, crème fraîche and milk. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the remaining gruyère and half the parmesan.Pour egg mixture over the vegetables and sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan.

Bake for 35–45 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch. Cool for 10 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining basil and serve.

Phillip Kraal, Bamboozle restaurant in Christchurch