Food For Thought

Love Lockdown – Kanye West

Oh, I forgot to tell you all I was going on Spring Break…oops. Well I’m back and I apologize if any of the 6 average visitors to this site missed new content. I’ll be making up for that this week, as you’ll see if you stay tuned.

But while home over break, we had a family party for St. Patrick’s Day/My brother’s fiancee’s birthday. My Mom made my grandma’s recipe for corned beef and cabbage, and it was spectacular, as usual, but more on that later. My sister, always one to try new things, made a zucchini…casserole I guess you’d call it. She was rushed with her four kids and no husband for the night getting out of her house and over to Mom and Dad’s so it kinda of morphed on the way. Distorted or not, it was tied with the corned beef for the best thing on the table (and that’s saying something since corned beef has a blinding glow and a choir of angels behind it whenever I see it).

It’s kinda of a “semi-homemade” recipe, but there is still enough work involved where I think it’s acceptable to use store bought croissant dough. The buttery-ness and wonderfulness that is this dish made me go back (when no one was looking, eh hehh) and scoop out large enough pieces to be considered servings after dinner. It’s hearty enough to be a meal all on it’s own, but we served it as a side to the spread that was already created in honor of the best holiday ever.

In my infinite wisdom, I asked my sister for the recipe, then went to Purdue to visit some friends. I never got the recipe from her, so I’ve been making smaller batches, and prettying it up over the past few days, and this is what I’ve come up with; this wonderful little “tart” that makes me so freaking happy.

Zucchini Tart (makes eight servings)

Heavily adapted from my sister, Melissa

1 package store bought croissant (crescent) dough

½ medium white onion, sliced thinly

1 shallot, diced finely

5 strips turkey bacon, diced (optional)

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil

1 ½ tablespoons mustard (anything but the yellow stuff)

1 zucchini, sliced thin (on a mandoline)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon seasoned bread crumbs

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, add ~1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the turkey bacon. Remove the bacon once browned, about 5 minutes, and reserve for later. Saute the onion and shallot in the remaining oil over low heat, cooking until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Once caramelized, combine the bacon and onion into a bowl, mixing well.

Spray a 10-inch tart pan (or 9-inch pie pan, or 8×8 casserole, whatever you have on hand) with cooking spray, and press the croissant dough in the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Smear the mustard on the dough in an even layer. Add the onion-bacon mixture to the bottom and spread evenly. Begin arranging the zucchini in a ring around the pan, making sure to overlap each piece. In a small bowl, combine eggs and water. Once the zucchini pieces are placed, pour the egg mixture over the top and let soak, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper the top, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool five minutes, and enjoy!!