Tarte Provencale

When you see the word "Provencale" in a recipe, it usually means tomatoes, olives, garlic and fresh herbs.
It is the French word for "Provencal style", the flavors of Provence.

Ratatouille is a famous vegetable peasant stew from Provence.
So I whipped up a batch of that wonderful stuff from the South of France and decided on a tart.

This is tart #21 (but who's counting?).

There are no rules for this recipe, I used what I had on hand.

For the Ratatouille:

5 plum tomatoes, cubed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 small zucchini, cut into 1" cubes
1 red pepper, cut into squares
1 yellow pepper, cut into squares
1 large onion, sliced thick
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp herbs de Provence
1 large (or 2 skinny) Italian eggplants
olive oil and kosher salt

In a large heavy skillet, heat some olive oil and saute your onions and garlic 2 minutes, then add everything else.



Simmer this mixture on low and keep stirring until it resembles a nice vegetable stew, about 45 minutes.
Season with plenty of kosher salt.

Can be made one day ahead and kept in the fridge till ready to use for the tart.

For the Tart:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 small log of chevre (goat cheese)
fresh herbs, thyme or basil chiffonade

Roll out your puff pastry and lay out on a baking sheet (you can also fit it in a tart pan for a neater version, if you like).

Spread some of the vegetable mixture evenly over the dough.



Sprinkle some crumbled chevre (about 1/4 of the small log) over the tart and bake in a 425F oven for 20 minutes.

Add fresh thyme or basil to the top before serving.

Enjoy!