Grilled Vegetable and Hummus Olive Oil Tart

This recipe is definitely more than the sum of it’s parts.  Grilled vegetables, hummus and a

hummus and vegetable tart

crust sound great, but it’s far greater than that.  The olive oil tart is what makes it and it’s so simple to put together you can do it on a weeknight.  I did shortcut this recipe by using prepared sun-dried tomato hummus.  I used a thick, chunky one from Publix, but you could make your own if you want to spend the time.  I also wanted to be sure I had enough, so I upped the ingredients for the tart a bit.  It made 2 6″ x 12″ tarts, perfect for 6 people served with a side salad.  This recipe was adapted from from e-curry.  

Ingredients:

For the tart:

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/3 c + 3 T olive oil

1/3 c cold club soda

3/4 t salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 t dried Italian herbs

For the grilled vegetables:

1 medium red onion, thickly sliced

2 zucchini, sliced

1 small eggplant, sliced

2 Roma medium tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

6 cloves of garlic, minced or grated

salt and pepper

1/2 t crushed red pepper

2-3 T olive oil

1 t dried Italian herbs

8 oz prepared sun-dried tomato hummus

Grated Parmesan for serving, optional

Directions:

To make the tart:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a bowl combine flour,  salt, black pepper, herbs with a whisk.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together club soda and oil until almost creamy, for about 2 minutes.

Pour the oil and water mix in to the flour mix and stir together with a fork, until the flour come together in a dough form.  Add some more club soda if the mixture is much too dry to form a dough, but use sparingly.  Dump the dough onto a floured surface and give it a knead or two just to pull the dough together.  If you overwork it, it will get tough.

Divide the dough into two parts and gently pat each ball into a 12″ by 6″ rectangle, about a 1/4″ thickness.  Prick the crust with a fork in a few places.  Transfer tarts to greased baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Grill the vegetables:  Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables by whisking the olive oil, salt, herbs, crushed pepper and minced garlic together.  Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over high heat and cook the vegetables on a stove top cast iron grill/skillet drizzled with garlic oil.  Alternatively  you can roast the vegetables in the oven by placing them in a single layer in a baking tray; drizzle the garlic oil.  Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping them half way through baking.

To assemble the tart, heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread a half cup of the hummus over each baked tart.  Layer on the grilled vegetables.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.  Grated Parmesan on the top is great for serving.