Rice & Vegetable Curry Tart
A tasty savory tart that can be eaten hot, room temperature or cold. It's great for lunch with a salad, part of a picnic spread or even a light dinner. The curry and cumin gives the tart a wonderful aroma, as well as depth in flavor. The spices pair perfectly with the firm, lightly processed rice blend as well as the medley of vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 full recipe Basic Savory Pastry BASIC SAVORY PASTRY
- 3 tbsp olive oil (45g)
- 1 cup red onion (135g)
- 1 cup zucchini (115g)
- 1 1/2 cup eggplant (140g)
- 1 cup red bell pepper (110g)
- 2 cup mushrooms (150g)
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (28g)
- 2 medium size garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (30g)
- 2 tsp lemon zest (3g)
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice (8g)
- 1 tbsp curry powder (7g)
- 2 tsp ground cumin (5g)
- 1 tsp salt (6g)
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper (3g)
- 1 tsp tumeric (3g)
- 1 cup brown rice blend (180g) I prefer Lundberg's Jubilee
- 2 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (595ml)
- 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of water to wash the top of the pastry.
Instructions
PREP
- 1.Toast the pine nuts and set them aside. 2. Dice the onion, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms and red pepper. Mince the garlic, and chop the cilantro. 3. Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
PREPARING THE FILLING
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy sauté pan, add the onion, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, minced garlic, pine nuts and red pepper, and sauté until they just start to soften and color. Add the curry, cumin, salt, pepper and turmeric, stir for a minute or two, then add the lemon zest, lemon juice and cilantro. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until all the vegetables are very soft and the flavors have blended. This generally takes about 30 minutes.
- Place the cup of rice (I recommend Lundberg's Jubilee blended brown, black and red rice) in a 2 quart or slightly larger sauce pan. Add the chicken or vegetable stock. If the stock is salt free, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook the rice over medium low heat for 35 to 40 minutes. You don't want it to be completely cooked, as it will continue to cook when you bake it in the tart. When finished there should still be a few tablespoons of liquid that has not been absorbed by the rice. If not, add 2 tablespoons of stock or water.
- Mix the cooked rice, along with any liquid and the vegetables together. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Allow to cool to room temperature.
ASSEMBLING AND BAKING THE TART
- Take 2/3 of your pastry dough and roll into a circle about 13" in diameter. Place the dough in your prepared springform pan. Fill with your room temperature vegetable rice mixture, and drape the excess dough over the top of the filling. The filling should come about half way up to the top of your springform pan, which is exactly what you want.Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the pastry dough to a 9" circle. Cut slits in the dough for steam to escape during baking (as shown in the photo). Brush the folded over portion of the bottom piece of pastry with the egg wash and drape the 9" circle of dough over that. Press lightly around the edges to "glue" both pieces together. Brush the top piece of pastry with more of the egg wash. Place the tart on a baking sheet. Bake on the lower rack of your preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. When baked the pastry should be golden brown and firm to the touch and you will see puffs of steam escaping from the slits on the top.
- Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Run a thin bladed knife around the rim to loosen any bits of pastry that adhere to the sides. Remove the outer ring and allow to cool another 15 minutes, then slide the tart off of the bottom portion of the springform pan on to a cooling rack. You may serve at any time. It's good hot or cooled to room temperature and will last for several days.