Unfussy Foodie: A trio of zucchini and thyme

Thursday, November 11, 2010

A trio of zucchini and thyme

I haven't posted food recently, mainly because I have been away so much that I haven't really been gathering or cooking - the two days I was at home this week I did enjoy the garden though planting out beans, pumpkins and some spaghetti squash among other things. The thing that is really growing out of control is the zucchini - we have three types growing, yellow, green and a light green variety that I am not sure what it is. We also have the gorgeous patty pan squash coming up and they are a real treat when they are small and fresh with a bit of butter and cracked black pepper!

In order to counter the stock pile of zucchinis, I made a delightful three zucchini, leek and fetta tart ...

the raw ingredients picked fresh from the garden

I made a spelt pastry for the base, blind baking it to ensure it was nice and crispy (it was actually the same pastry that I used for the mulberry tarts recently shown!).

Chopped and ready!

The leeks and zucchini were sauteed in a little olive oil, salt and pepper until they were softened. I also added in a big bunch of three types of thyme (to keep with the THREE THEME) which I removed after the veggies were softened. They added a delightful hint of thymeness to the finished tart, wtihout the 'bits' they leave!

Three Thymes for Three Zucchinis

I layered the cooked zucchini in the tart case and poured 5 beaten eggs over the top (the number of eggs will depend on the size of the eggs and how much veg you have in it), I could have added cream to the eggs to make it more velvety and luscious, but as it doesn't work with my body, I left it out! I sprinkled the last of my fetta over the top and a bit more cracked black pepper and a few thyme leaves.

It baked in a moderate oven until the eggs were set - again depends, between 30 and 45 minutes and let it rest for a few minutes before devouring!