This rich Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Manchego Tart is utterly delicious! The roasted vegetables are sublime while the tomato brings balance to the overall tart. The manchgo and mascarpone cheese adds a decadent quality without the use of eggs. This tart would make a perfet brunch treat.
I was fortunate enough to visit Turkey with my friend Maggie a number of years ago. Maggie and I were traveling in Europe at the time and she had asked me if I wanted to go to Turkey with her. At the time I really knew nothing about Turkey, but I eagerly said yes! Our plan was to meet up with her relatives that were living on an American/Turkish air force base in Adana.
We flew from London to Dalaman and then caught a bus to Fethiye where we stayed the night. Fethiye was right on the ocean and it was so incredibly beautiful! We found a cheap hotel to stay in and the manager told us about a wonderful local place to eat. It was an outside restaurant run by a local family. We had some great food and a night of classic Turkish music and dancing.
The next day, we took a bus along the coast to our final destination. It was a twenty hour long bus ride, which normally would take 11 hours by car. The bus ride wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been for a 17 year old bus steward that apparently had it in for us. There were maybe two other women on the bus and the rest were men. Almost everyone was smoking, so Maggie asked the steward if he could open the vents on the roof of the bus. They were barely open and we hoped that he would open them more since the windows on the sides of the bus could not be opened. Instead, he closed the vents completely and gave us a look like too bad for you! I had also put my feet on a metal box that was in front of our seats and he came over and shoved my feet off. Maggie and I both looked at each other and then started to talk back to him. Thank goodness there was a really nice man sitting behind us who had told the steward to leave us alone and he did.
We finally arrived at Maggie’s aunt’s house and were enthusiastically greeted by Maggie’s cute little cousins. The next day, Maggie’s aunt took us to a local restaurant that had some of the best food I have ever had. The meal consisted of small bowls filled with different salads, soups, rice, vegetables and sauces with a giant piece of flat bread. I had no idea what Turkish food was like before my visit but I will tell you that I was in heaven with all the great vegetarian options! After lunch, Maggie’s aunt took us to the cute town near Karatepe. We saw women weaving rugs in a shop’s showroom and decided to take a look. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy any rugs. We also found another shop with a large assortment of beautiful scarves. Maggie and I both bought a bunch. We bought scarves made of crepe with lace stitched on the edges but my favorite ones were gauze scarves that had seed bead flowers dangling off the edges. Of course, I bought one in every color. Aside from the 17-year-old, everyone one we met was extremely nice and helpful, the food was out of this world and the countryside and coast was insanely gorgeous!
This Mediterranean Tart pairs great with a s[arkling wine like a Cava or a Txakoli.
Mediterranean Vegetable Manchego Tart with an Oat Almond Crust - CaliZona
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe Toasted Almond Oat Crust – recipe below
- 2 Red Bell Peppers – 1 small and 1 large - roasted - dice the small pepper and cut the large into thin strips if making a lattice
- 1 Fennel Bulb – cut in half – cored – cut halves in half – thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Dash of Salt
- 1/2 White Onion – diced
- 1 Garlic Clove – minced
- 1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
- 2 3/4 Cups Manchego – shredded – divided
- 8 oz. Mascarpone
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 2 Tomatoes – thinly sliced
- Garnish options:
- Fresh Basil
Tart Dough
- 1 Cup Raw Almonds – ground
- 1 Cup Oat Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds – ground
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons Filtered Water
- 3/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 5 Tablespoons Salted Butter
Instructions
Dough
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In a small bowl, add the water and quickly whisk in the ground chia seeds until it becomes gelatinous and then set aside.
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Grind the almonds in the food processor really well and scrape the bottom edge of the food processor. The almonds will stick to the corners.
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Then add the flour and salt. Pulse several times to combine.
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Add the butter in 1/4 inch piece and turn on until incorporated. It will resemble a coarse meal. Do not over process.
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Add the chia egg and mix until it all comes together.
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Form the dough into a flat disc and wrap in parchment paper. Place in the fridge for at least a half hour.
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Remove the dough from the refrigerator and sprinkle the cutting board with oat flour and place the dough over the flour, then sprinkle more flour on top of the dough.
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Roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thick. You may need to add more flour as you go.
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Transfer to an 8 x 11 rectangle tart pan. Press into the edges and up the sides of the tart pan.
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Poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Roasted peppers
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Roast peppers on the stovetop on medium-high heat. A gas stove works the best but it will work fine on an electric stove. Char the peppers on all sides turning with a pair of tongs.
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When good and charred, steam them for 10 minutes in a covered dish or a paper bag rolled shut to hold in the steam.
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Take a paper towel and rub off the char. It’s ok to leave a little of the char.
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Slice in half and remove the seeds and stems. Cut the tops and bottoms off of the peppers.
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Thinly slice the large pepper to create a lattice. (this part is optional, you can dice them all up if you want)
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Create the lattice on a large cutting board so you know how much you will need as well as how to arrange it on the tart.
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Then dice up any remaining piece and the remaining small pepper. Set aside.
Fennel
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees
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Cut the fennel in half and cut out the core.
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Cut each half horizontally into 1/4 -inch slices.
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Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
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Toss to evenly coat.
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Roast for 15 – 20 minutes or until soft and golden. Set aside.
Onions and Cream sauce
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Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium-low heat.
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Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and salt.
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Saute until the garlic just starts to become golden.
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Add the wine and cook until it reduces to a syrup.
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Add the mascarpone and stir until melted. Add the 2 cups of Manchego and salt then stir until incorporated then set aside. The Manchego doesn't need to be melted.
Assemble
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Bake the tart crust on the middle rack for 10 minutes with pie weights or beans and then for 15 minutes without the weights.
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Slice the tomatoes and push out any seeds with your finger to remove as much water content as you can. Set aside.
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Sprinkle half of the reserved manchego evenly over the warm tart crust.
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Evenly spread out the fennel, sprinkle on the diced red peppers and arrange tomatoes in a single layer. Spread the mascarpone mix over the tomatoes and then carefully create the lattice with the strips of bell peppers.
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Sprinkle on the remaining Manchego.
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Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until golden.
Recipe Notes
You can roast the peppers and the fennel the day before as well as grate the cheese.
