Aubergines and garlic, peppers and courgettes, onions and tomatoes, all the special foods we associate with the Mediterranean, and in particular with Provence, are usually expressed in their combined magnificence in the great sweet vegetable stew of ratatouille.
But, today, to celebrate all the sweet things of summer, what we have done is to take the ingredients of a ratatouille, and to present them in various guises in a summer tart, with a deliciously crumbly pastry.
Here, the courgettes and tomatoes are kept separate from the rest of the ingredients, and are presented, instead, overlapping each other in thin slices, like fish scales, as the topping of the tart. Underneath lie the sweet onions, peppers and aubergines, cooked gently together in olive oil.
To complete the Provencale theme, thyme leaves are scattered on top as the pie goes into the oven. Obviously, a bottle of very cool rose is called for.
The Pastry
225g (8oz) flour
85g (3oz) butter
25g (1oz) shortening salt
Sift the flour into a bowl. Dice the butter and shortening, and add to the flour, crumbling in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add three tablespoons of cold water all at once and bring together quickly and lightly into a ball. Chill for four hours, or overnight. Roll out. Butter a nine-inch, shallow baking dish, then fit the pastry in and let it rest for one hour in the fridge. Bake blind (the pastry covered with tin foil weighed down with baking beans) in an oven pre-heated to 350 F/180 C/Gas 4, for 20 minutes.
The Tart
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 medium aubergine, diced
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
two large courgettes, very thinly sliced
3 beef tomatoes, very thinly sliced
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
freshly grated black pepper
Heat the four tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy saucepan and saute the sliced onion until translucent, then add in the sliced garlic, diced aubergine and diced pepper, stir to coat with the oil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook until all the ingredients are soft, this should take about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.
Slice the courgettes and tomatoes very thinly: a serrated tomato knife is very useful to cut a tomato very thinly. Cut the courgette slightly on the diagonal to obtain larger ovals.
Remove the cooking beans and foil from the pastry and place the filling on the bottom of the tart to cover all the pastry. Now, arrange the courgettes and tomatoes in rows: a row of overlapping courgettes, a row of tomatoes, widening out to the centre of the pie then narrowing again as you reach the opposite side, until the surface of the pie is completely covered by a red-green series of stripes. Gently drizzle a little olive oil over the vegetables, sprinkle on some thyme leaves, scatter on a little sea salt and pepper and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and scatter a fine dusting of Parmesan over it. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes, until the Parmesan has melted and glazed the surface. Let the pie rest for a few minutes: it can be eaten now, or allowed to cool and gently warmed through later on, covered by foil. A green salad is all you need to complete the meal, so read on!
Continuing our summer theme, here are two salad dressings which will complement the simplest array of green leaves, but will also suit artichoke hearts, asparagus, green beans, new potatoes and composed green salads. Each dressing will make enough for a large bowl of salad, but a clever and convenient idea is to make double and keep it in the fridge in a sealed glass jar for future use.
Walnut Oil Dressing
4 tablespoons walnut oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 shallot
parsley
salt and pepper
Dice the shallot and dice a good handful of parsley. Place all the ingredients in a jar and shake until they come together. Pour into the bottom of a bowl and assemble your salad, or pour over warm green beans or cooked artichoke hearts.
Dressing of Fine Herbs
1 tablespoon mustard
generous sprigs of tarragon, chives and chervil, all chopped fairly fine
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Place all the ingredients in a jar and shake until a liaison is formed.
Place in the bottom of a bowl before assembling and tossing the salad.