Eggplant and Ricotta Tart with Fresh Herbs and Tomatoes

  • This tart is a reflection of Northern California’s beautiful, sun-drenched, summer markets filled with bushels of bright red tomatoes, dark purple eggplants, fresh herbs, and olive oil. There is no better time than summertime to eat this delicious tart!
  • Prep time: 40 minutes
  • Cook time: 25-30 minutes
  • Serves 6

For the Toppings

  • 1 medium eggplant, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • ⅓ cup chopped basil
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • 1 ½ cups tomato sauce
  • ½ cup fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • handful of small basil leaves
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Yeast Mixture

  • ¼ cup lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoons raw honey
  • 2 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 ⅓ cup arrowroot flour
  • ⅓ cup coconut flour
  • 1 ½ cups almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Wet ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the crust
  • 2 teaspoons raw apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

  • Note: You will need parchment paper and a rolling pin for this dough. A basic wooden rolling pin can be purchased for under $10 at most big box retail stores. If you don’t have a rolling pin, or don’t want to buy one, you can use a tall drinking glass, a round glass jar, wine bottle, or liquor bottle. This dough is soft and very easy to roll out.
  • Note: To ramp up the flavor of this delicious tart, whip up a batch of garlic and herb-infused olive oil to cook the onions and brush on the crust.
  • To prepare the toppings, season the sliced eggplant on both sides with salt and pepper. In batches, pan-fry the eggplant in olive oil in a large skillet until tender and golden brown, drizzling in more olive oil as needed. Arrange the eggplant on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
  • Combine the ricotta cheese, herbs de Provence, garlic, basil, and Parmesan in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 425°F
  • Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a half-sheet pan (12” X 16”) and set aside.
  • To prepare the crust, whisk together the ingredients for the yeast mixture in a small cup or bowl and let stand for about 5 minutes, until the mixture becomes foamy.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the dry ingredients.
  • In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and add the yeast mixture when ready.
  • Using the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry and wet ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to the center of your cut sheet of parchment paper on a work surface.
  • Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the size of your parchment paper, rotating the paper with quarter-half turns, evenly rolling out the dough to the edges of the paper. Your dough should be about ¼-inch thick.
  • Transfer the dough with the parchment paper to a half-sheet pan and brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil.
  • Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the crust from the oven and top with a layer of tomato sauce, and then with spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture. Continue with the sliced mozzarella and eggplant.
  • Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the mozzarella is melted and bubbly. Garnish with fresh tomatoes and basil leaves. Cut and serve.