Lasagna Tart

I admit, I read a lot of food blogs in my spare time. I get a lot of great, creative ideas for cooking when I read them... and I've tried a lot of new things because of them. My latest obsession is a website called 101 Cookbooks, written by Heidi Swanson, food photographer and writer. Her site is all vegetarian, but you would necessarily notice that right off the bat because the photos of her creations are so mouth-watering!

A recipe that caught my eye the other day was one for a Lasagna Tart: basically, a tart with lasagna filling, minus the noodles. Well, in Chicago we pretty much call this deep dish pizza, so naturally, being the stuffed pizza, good Chicago girl that I am, I wanted to make it. However, it's more health-conscious - whole wheat crust, lower-fat cheese and veggies within. Also, this does come out looking a bit more elegant than your typical pie - the finished product could easily be served at a brunch, and you could substitute the fillings for any manner of ingredients.

And, substitute I did. I made a number of changes to her recipe, (hers used zucchini, for example)because it just seemed like the sort of thing that would be even better customized. It turned out fantastic. Josh gave it his seal of approval, which on a vegetarian dish (my man likes his meat), means it really is that good.

Lasagna Tart, adapted from Heidi Swanson at 101Cookbooks.com

8oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 C. whole wheat flour

1/4 C. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 C. cold water

1 T. fresh oregano

1 C. ricotta (I used low-fat)

2 T. parmesan

1 handful fresh basil, shredded

1.5 C. pasta sauce (see her site for a recipe... I was feeling lazy and just used good jarred stuff... I think it was a basil marinara)

Mix the flour, salt and oregano. Add the oil and stir. Add the water and stir with a fork, forming a ball. Roll the dough ball out and fit into tart pan. Refridgerate 10 min.

Heat oven to 350. Prick the crust in multiple spots with a fork and weight down with pie weights, or, as I do, put some foil over the top and place another, oven-proof dish on top. Bake 15 minutes.

Lower heat to 375. Spread 1/2 C. ricotta on the crust. Add 3/4 C. of sauce, then layer the mushrooms over. Repeat by spooning the remaining cheese on top of the shrooms, add the rest of the sauce, remaining mushrooms, and then top with the basil. Sprinkle with parm, adding more if you like extra cheese!

Bake 40 minutes, and then let sit 15 minutes on a wire rack after baking (to help it thicken up and stay together when you cut). Cut into wedges and serve (preferrably with a little side salad and maybe some Nero d'Avola!)

Comments

[linda]

You're always cooking up something divine. This is no exception - looks very tasty, and I'm impressed your husband found the mushroom tart to his liking. Double points there!

[Mushroom Channel]

This just looked too good to resist posting about- we love Heidi as well!

[bart minor]

Bart Minor, pres of Mushroom Council here. GREAT dish; original AND amended. Your comment about your "man loves his meat" is one to explore. Just came back from a restaurant conference and more and more I heard comments like this relative to mushrooms/meat/men. Are mushrooms a man food? A vegetarian (well, flexitarian) man's meat? I was with two women/wives/cooks yesterday and BOTH said they did not care for mushrooms but bought 'em and cooked 'em because their hubbies loved 'em. What do you think?

[Amanda]

Both Josh (my husband) and I love mushrooms. You're right though - J. has told me that if he's eating a vegetarian dish, he likes it to have mushroooms in it, because it gives it a little more heft!