Rustic Zucchini Tart with Boursin Cheese
Tell me you ate an entire round of Boursin cheese without telling me you ate an entire round of Boursin cheese.
Technically, I split this decadent, savory tart with my husband for dinner one evening. But I dined like a queen throughout the remainder of the week, devouring it slice-by-slice for lunch.
Zucchini is plentiful this time of year, and I had a vegetable drawer full of them. Feeling in a bit of a cooking rut, I found much needed inspiration thanks to Ina Garten and Boursin cheese - ensuring these green vegetables didn’t go to waste. This zucchini tart is a showstopper with it’s rustic appeal and rich taste. You can enjoy it as an appetizer with an aperitif, or serve it as the main meal with a green salad. This recipe is one to use when you want to elevate your evening just a smidgen without slaving away in the kitchen all day.
The Tart Crust
The premise of this recipe and the crust comes from Ina Garten’s recipe for a zucchini and goat cheese tart. The dough is quite easy to pull together, and I relish the sense of pride that comes with making your own. If you have flour, butter, and a pair of capable hands, you can whip together a homemade tart in a matter of minutes.
Ina’s recipe calls for a 1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar. The reason is because a little drop of vinegar helps give the crust its flaky texture! The acidic properties of vinegar inhibit gluten formation, so adding ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar to your dough will aid in a tender crust.
I like to mix my dough by hand. Borderline control freak right here. For some reason, mixing the dough by hand makes me feel like I have better control over how wet or dry the dough is and how well it comes together. On a practical level, I like not having more dishes to wash than I would if using a food processor. Regardless, you form your dough your way. It’s your tart. The instructions below, however, are for the mixing by hand method.
The Zucchini
I found that 2-3 medium size zucchini are sufficient for covering the entire tart. Try to chose zucchini that are similar in diameter as well. It not only looks appealing for all of the slices to be uniform, but it helps to ensure they are evenly baked. Using a mandolin to slice the zucchini also maintains a uniform thickness, but you can certainly slice the vegetables by hand. Just watch those fingers! I’ve come close to losing my finger to a mandoline.
Zucchini has a high water content. According to healthline.com, a one-cup serving of chopped zucchini contains more than 90% water. Consequently, we need to let the zucchini sweat before assembling the tart!
After you slice the zucchini, lay them flat on a paper towel or dish towel and sprinkle with kosher salt on top. Wait at least 30 minutes, and you’ll notice water droplets forming on top on the zucchini rounds. Take another paper towel or dish towel and lightly blot the water off of the zucchini to remove the moisture.
Boursin Cheese
Do a Google search for zucchini tarts, and there are a dozen different cheese combinations you could use - from goat cheese to cream cheese and everything in between. If we’re being scored on efficiency, I’d ace the test because this recipe uses Boursin cheese. If you’ve never had Boursin, stop reading this blog post immediately and go to the grocery store. Originating in Normandy, France, Boursin has quite an interesting history for those that want to read more about it.
Boursin is perfect for this tart because is has a naturally creamy texture, is relatively easy to spread, and packs a punch of flavor just by using this one ingredient. Make sure to remove the Boursin from the refrigerator, so it to come to room temperature. Spreading the cheese over the dough will be much easier.
How Much Time Does It Take to Make?
If you’re in need of a quick 30 minute meal from start to finish, this isn’t it. Realistically, you will need about 2-2.5 hours: 30 minutes for the dough to chill, 30 minutes for the zucchini to sweat, plus time to prep, assemble, and bake.
For those of you that work from home these days, you can tackle the steps throughout the day. Or save it for a weekend meal when you have more time to spare. You can also make the tart ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before baking.
Zucchini and Boursin Cheese Tart Recipe
Ingredients for the Crust
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
1 1/4 stick (10 tablespoons) of cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
5 tablespoons of ice water
Ingredients for the Tart
2 medium-large size zucchini, unpeeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
Dough for the tart crust (above)
1 package (5.2 oz) of Boursin garlic and fine herb cheese, room temperature
Kosher salt and black pepper
Olive oil
Instructions for the Crust (made by hand)
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and pinch of salt. Add the cubes of butter and toss them into the flour to coat them. To cut the butter into the flour by hand, press the butter cubes between your fingers to flatten them into shards. Work quickly to keep the butter cold, and continue to toss them through the flour as you work them into smaller pieces - about the size of peas.
2 . Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the 5 tablespoons of ice water and white wine vinegar in the center of the well. Use your hands to incorporate the flour, water, and vinegar together; mix just until the dough comes together. You can knead it a few times to make sure it’s fully incorporated. If the dough is too dry (not fully coming together), add a few drops of water. I just get my finger tips wet and use that to knead the dough once or twice. If the dough is too sticky, there’s too much water in it. To solve for this, add a pinch or two of flour at a time to the dough until it becomes almost dry to the touch.
3. Form the dough into an even disk (about an inch thick) and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Instructions for the Tart
While the dough is chilling, use a madeline to slice the zucchini. Spread them out on a paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt. Set aside for 30 minutes, so the zucchini can extract water. After 30 minutes, use a paper towel to blot the tops of the zucchini rounds and remove some of the liquid. Now is also a good time to remove the Boursin from the refrigerator, so it can come to room temperature.
Place the zucchini in a medium size bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface and into an 11-inch circle. The edges of my circle aren’t perfectly symmetrical when I roll it out; that’s ok! You can leave it like this, for a little more rustic look, or trim the edges for a perfect circle.
Place the rolled out dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Spread the Boursin over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch - 1 inch border.
Lay the zucchini slices in tightly overlapping circles, starting from the outer edges of the pastry and working your way into the center. The zucchini will shrink as it bakes, so you’ll want the slices to overlap.
Continue until the entire tart is covered.
Drizzle the tart with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a pinch or two of kosher salt, and top with freshly cracked pepper.
Bake for approx. 30 minutes until the dough is golden brown. NOTE: every oven is different. Your tart may need 40 minutes vs 30 minutes. Judge it by how golden brown the crust is, so it doesn’t burn.
Cut in wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.