SAVOURY BUCKWHEAT VEGETABLE TART…ATOM!
“Light, refined, learned and noble, harmonious and orderly, clear and logical, the cooking of France is, in some strange manner, intimately linked to the genius of her greatest men.”
Rouff Marcel
Salut! There’s a new event at Antonio Tahan’s blog that has had me inspired ever since I read about it. A Taste of the Mediterranean… 
… “The premise of this culinary excursion is to virtually travel to the different regions of the Mediterranean through food and our blogs. Hold on, it gets better. Each month a traditional dish of the region we are visiting will be presented.” 
“The first challenge for A Taste of the Mediterranean is a stop-over at France this January, where you create your own tart, sweet or savory.” 
January has been a devilishly busy month & time is flying by at an astonishing speed. It’s never been so hurried before, but this is one post that has to be put out. Here is my twist to the classic French pastry dough, pate brisée. 
I desperately wanted to use my new rectangular tart pan that I bought from Sydney in November, & savoury was on my mind. January has been sugar high until now, & this tart seems to be just what the doc ordered!! C’était délicieux!
Buckwheat made an entry back into my life just at the end of last year… here, when we returned from Sydney. It’s been a fun journey experimenting & baking with this nutty flour. The texture of this flour is slightly sandy, & adds a characteristic crunch to baked goods. Healthy too, as I tread carefully, trying to incorporate it in Savoury Herb Creame Cheese Crackers here, in Nibbly Buckwheat Chocolate-chip Cookies here, & now in the pastry dough for this savoury tart. The tart shell came out nice & crisp…nibbly & delicious. It’s a wonderful pastry base if you are looking at weaning off plain flour, & exploring alternative grains.
My romance with balsamic vinegar also began sometime last year when I found this yummy Balsamic Tomato Bruischetta at Nic @ Cherrapeno & some fabulous Balsamic & Herb Grilled Chicken @ Proud Italian Cook that Marie posted. 
The aged vinegar adds a good punch to food. I love the flavours it draws out. A marriage of buckwheat tart & balsamic marinated roasted bell peppers & mushrooms made this tart delicious? Tres Bien!
The aged vinegar adds a good punch to food. I love the flavours it draws out. A marriage of buckwheat tart & balsamic marinated roasted bell peppers & mushrooms made this tart delicious? Tres Bien!
The tart can be made in advance, like a quiche. Sliced & served as finger food, packed in the picnic basket, or included in the snack box…it’s good!! I made 2 variants. The very veggie laden one for us with sliced zucchinis in the base, & then everything mixed together sans zucchini one for the kids. The hub loved both, but I preferred the kids version where the creamy mix was flavoured with the marinated & cooked peppers & mushrooms. The pastry can also be made in advance, & the shell frozen too for future use. I prefer a thin pastry so I rolled out 2 shells.
SAVOURY BUCKWHEAT VEGETABLE TART
The pastry can also be made in advance, & the shell frozen too for future use. I prefer a thin pastry so I rolled out 2 shells.
SAVOURY BUCKWHEAT VEGETABLE TART
My own recipe…
Pastry for tart shell
Makes 2 thin crust rectangular pastry shells
Makes 2 thin crust rectangular pastry shells
Ingredients:
Buckwheat flour – 1 cup
Flour – 1 cup
Butter – 1/2 cup; chilled
Salt – 1 tsp
Freshly ground Pepper
2-3 tbsps of chilled water
Buckwheat flour – 1 cup
Flour – 1 cup
Butter – 1/2 cup; chilled
Salt – 1 tsp
Freshly ground Pepper
2-3 tbsps of chilled water
Method:
- Put the flours + salt + pepper with chilled butter into food processor. Pulse short durations till breadcrumbs mixture forms.
- Add chilled water gradually & pull together to form a firm dough. Don’t over knead, or the crust will become tough. Divide into 2 patties, cling wrap & chill for 15 minutes & roll out thin to line the tart pan.
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Bake blind for 15 minutes, & then remove pie weights / beans & bake for another 10 minutes to allow pastry to dry out & become crisp.
- The pastry was really good enough to nibble away on its own…light & oh-s0-crisp!!
Filling:
Enough for 2 thin crust savoury tarts
Ingredients:
Curd cheese – Made from 1 kg of curd hung for 24 hours, (or you can use cream cheese)
Low fat cream – 150ml
Eggs – 2
Cheese – 100-150 gms; grated
Red bell pepper – 1
Yellow bell pepper -1
Button mushrooms – 200gms; finely sliced
Balsamic vinegar – 2 tsps
Splash of red wine (optional)
Olive oil – 2 tsps
Demerera sugar – 1 tsp
Garlic – 1 head (roasted)
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
-
Roast the bell peppers & garlic in the oven for 30 minutes a 180C. Turn the peppers over 2-3 times to ensure even char-grilling. Remove from oven, & shut the peppers in a baggie till cool. Then remove outer skin & seeds, & chop up.
-
Squeeze all the garlic out, with whatever juices. (I usually keep a small tub of roasted garlic with olive oil & freshly ground black pepper in the fridge.)
-
Toss the roasted garlic, bell peppers & mushrooms into a pan. Add 1 tsp of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar & a splash of red wine (about 1/4 cup).
-
Stir well on high heat till all the juices have been absorbed & the mushrooms are cooked through & wilted. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper. (This can be made in advance)
Version 1:
-
Slice 1 zucchini & line the base of 1 of the tart shells. Top with half the bell pepper/mushroom mix. Top with half the cheese/egg mix, grate a little cheddar over it.
-
Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes till set. Rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
Version 2:
-
Take the remaining bell pepper/mushroom mix & mix it well into the cheese/egg mixture. (I added some extra cheese, sweetcorn & oregano for the kids.)
-
Fill into the pastry shell, top with thickly sliced tomatoes, grate cheese over the top. Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes till set. Rest at least 30 minutes before slicing up. (I made this 3 hours before the kids ate it for dinner)
Bon appetit! 
This is also headed for Original Recipes @ Culinarty for Lore’s event.
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
36 Comments
Gigi
The tarts look great! I would love a huge slice with a little salad on the side. YUM!
Nags
I saw buckwheat at the baking supply store the other day and was wondering what I could use it in. Here you come with the answer. I bought a round pie dish a couple of weeks back and its still unused. But tell me, the buckwheat I saw were grains, so can I powder it myself in the mixer?
arundati
this is a winner… looks fabulous…i can just imagine the flavours of all those wonderful things in the filling….basil…cream cheese….roasted bell peppers and garlic… awesome!!
Snooky doodle
what a nice tart. It really inspires the Mediterranean. The buckwheat base is really original. looks great .
Raaga
this looks lovely… is buckwheat the same as Kutu ka atta?
morgana
Wow! Good looking… It must be delicious (and makes me hungry).
Moumita
This makes me hungry plz Deeba tell me one thing cant we skip or replace red wine with something……..
I just love ur recipes. Way of ur presentation are Incompatible……………….
Navita
i love buckwheat…n cheddar…so need to try this out…but never made a tart..tried once but the tart rose like a cookie..:(
wht am i doing wrong Deeba?
MeetaK
oh this is truly a gorgeous looking tart Deeba. I love such tarts!
Kitchen Flavours
Wow healthy sounding, yummy looking tart…
Aparna
This is absolutely delicious, Deeba.
I love savoury stuff and the flavours in this tart sound wonderful.
The Blonde Duck
You’ve always got the coolest dishes! I’m glad you’re sending it to Lore’s round up!
Manggy
Ooh, I’ve had my eye on such a pan for ages now! So expensive though. This looks like creamy, delicious goodness in a buckwheat shell 🙂
diva
i like this tart so much already! love buckwheat. beautiful 🙂 and the tart pan is fab, deeba. i want it !!! xxx
Tabitha (From Single to Married)
Wow – this looks really good. I’ve never cooked with buckwheat before so I’m excited to try it!
Bharti
Gorgeous tart and the flavors sounds so yummy together. Yeah, I don’t know- I like the idea of zucchini but don’t love the taste that much! So I’m guessing I would like the kids version as well. I really have to get buckwheat- the crust looks and sounds great. Would be great in a pot pie too.
Elra
Oh Deeba, your tart is so original and delicious looking. I do too love buckwheat, but only use it for my crepe.
Cheers,
Elra
Antonio Tahhan
Deeba!! this savory tart looks wonderful and is a like a fresh of breath air for me 🙂 you can only imagine how many sweet tarts my roommates and I have been eating for the past few days, haha!
I love your new rectangular pan, too – very chic 🙂
Do you think some goat cheese (chèvre) would go well instead of the curd cheese? I have a ton of it at home and think a savory tart similar to this would be a fantastic application for it… thanks for the submission!
Rajani
wow and double wow for such a beautiful original creation! your last one was a success at my place so I am going to try this too!
Camille
Thank you for stopping by my blog and taking a look!
Your photos are wonderful, first of all. And, the tart makes me hungry! It looks so delicious, savory and comforting, not to mention nutritious!
Weight Loss
Hi I found this cool recipe for Artichoke-scrambled Eggs Benedict. Has anyone ever tried it? Sounds good and I hope it is. Here is the link with the recipe and article. nice site to whoever created it.
emergevictoriousoverfat.com
Gloria
Dear Deeba this recipe is absolutely tasty and beauty! so beauty!! aah! and I enjoy your pictures as always!! xxxGloria
toontz
So pretty!
noobcook
awesome … hope I can learn to make such delicious tart one day =)
noble pig
Deeba it’s beautiful! Oh goodness it looks so, so wonderful and hearty. Just a delicious creation!
Patricia Scarpin
What a delicious and colorful tart! And may I just say I love your pan, too? 😀
Jamie
What a post Deeba! Glad to see that you are still making such wonderful treats as you always have. It has been a long time since I have been on here and I can’t wait to go through to see what I have missed! Happy Belated New Year!
Joie de vivre
What a gorgeous blog you have! Thanks so much for visiting mine. I look forward to reading more of yours. 🙂
Helene
I just voted.
What a great way to use buckwheat. Looks delicious and healthy.
Lore
Your take on pâte brisée worked out so beatifully, not to mention how healthy buckwheat is. I love all versions…mushrooms, cheese, bell peppers oh my, how yummy is that? Heavenly yummy!
Thanks for sharing it with the Original Recipes Round-Up 🙂
nadia
THis looks amazing and sounds delicious, i will make this one for sure!!!
Curry Leaf
Wow,Lovely and another wonderful creation from you.
Proud Italian Cook
Deeba, Hi, I haven’t been here in a while, but I’ am truely in awe of what you do, and how you cook! You are an artist in the kitchen!
Zita
My… o… my, that’s one healthy tart you made 🙂
Familia
This looks delicious!
Jaguar Middle East
Your blogs are amazing!!!!!!Like visiting it often!Thanks for your good work!