Rustic Vegetable Tarte (French Tarte Provençale)

This rustic, free-form Tarte Provencale is filled with flavourful roasted winter vegetables and creamy goat cheese. It is the perfect recipe for a comforting winter appetizer. In France, tarts are quite common to find on a dinner party menu and for good reason. They are easy to prepare and can be made to feature any number of seasonal flavour combinations. The base is a simple pâte brisée, better known as a shortcrust pastry or, simply, pie dough, which is super simple to whip up at home, particularly with the aid of a food processor. In Province, in the south of France, vegetable tarts are typically filled with tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and fresh herbs. It is a Mediterranean region after all, and a Tarte Provencale is a dish whose purpose is to accent warm summer produce in a simple, yet elegant manner. However, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the concept in the throes of winter as well. We are firm believers that you can never go wrong with roasted tomatoes for their juicy sweetness. Good goat cheese brings a creamy and salty element to all those roasted vegetables. And, rosemary and thyme are two incredible French herbs that give this tart a final "wow" appeal.

Crust:
1½ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ tsp. kosher or sea salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp. ice cold water

Vegetables:
¼ lb Brussels sprouts halved
1 small turnip, peeled and sliced (roughly 4 oz)
1 medium parsnip, peeled and sliced (roughly 4 oz)
¼ red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
kosher or sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 large tomato, sliced

Assembly:
1 small sprig fresh rosemary or ½ tsp. dried
1 small sprig fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried
1 oz goat cheese

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

For the Crust:
Add the flour kosher or sea salt, butter and extra-virgin olive oil to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, pulsing in between to mix, until a soft pastry dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead it gently a couple of times. Shape it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped dough in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.

For the Vegetables:
Place the halved Brussels sprouts, sliced turnip, parsnip, onion, and cloves garlic on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt and pepper. Place the vegetables in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and stir the vegetables. Add the tomato slices. Drizzle them with a little extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt and pepper. Place the vegetables back into the oven and roast for 15 minutes more, until lightly golden.

Assembly:
While the vegetables are roasting their final time, remove the crust dough from refrigerator and roll it into a rectangle, roughly 8x15". Place the crust on a greased baking sheet.

When the vegetables have finished roasting, remove them from the oven. Take the roasted cloves garlic and crush them in a small bowl. Using a rubber spatula, smear the crushed garlic paste over the crust. Layer the roasted vegetables over the garlic, leaving a 1" border around the edges.

Dot the vegetables with goat cheese and sprinkle with fresh rosemary and thyme. Finish everything off with a light drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Fold the bare section of the crust inward over the vegetables to create a ½-1" border. Place the tart in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until crust is golden.

Makes 4 servings.