This eggplant tart is a refreshing and light dish. Eggplants are sliced, grilled and seasoned with pistachio pesto. The filling is a mixture of chopped eggplant with sautéed water chestnuts, which adds body to the tart.
Paired with a salad, this makes the perfect midday meal. It’s pretty filling and will keep you going for the rest of the day. Enjoy!
1. Info for Eggplant Tart Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 6
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Eggplant Tart Recipe
- 2 large eggplants
- 6 (5 x 5-inch) squares puff pastry dough, store-bought
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cooked water chestnuts, cut into matchsticks
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 6 ounces pistachio kernels, coarsely chopped
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- For the tart shell: Make sure the puff pastry dough is thawed but still cold so it’s easy to roll out. Place the dough in 6 individual tart molds lined with parchment paper; following the curve of the mold, crimp the dough against the edge. Gently press the dough with your fingers so there are no air bubbles. Leave a little excess above the edge because the dough will settle a bit in the oven. Prick the dough with a fork. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes. Line the dough with another sheet of parchment paper and top with ceramic pie weights (dried beans work well too). Place the tart pans on a baking sheet and bake for about 12-14 minutes. Remove the pie weights and discard the parchment paper. Bake for another 2-3 minutes so the pie crust can dry. Remove from the heat and let the dough cool a little down. Set aside.
- For the parsley: Wash the parsley. Reserve a few leaves for garnish. Quickly blanch the rest for about 5-10 seconds in boiling salted water and transfer to an ice bath to maintain the bright green color. Drain thoroughly and pat dry on paper towels. Coarsely chop.
- Making pistachio pesto:
- In a mini food processor, combine the pistachios, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Drizzle with olive oil. Pulse until it becomes a smooth paste. Add a little water if necessary for a smoother flow. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cooking the eggplant:
- Trim and slice the eggplants lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit, then pat dry with paper towels. Brush a non-stick griddle pan with oil. Add the eggplant slices and cook on both sides until grilling marks are visible. Reserve 6 slices and cut them into thirds. Coarsely chop the rest.
- Assembly time:
- In a small pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion and cook for 8-10 minutes until softened, stirring frequently. Add the water chestnuts, the chopped grilled eggplant and 2 tablespoons pistachio pesto. Season with salt and pepper.
- Coat the reserved eggplant slices with the remaining pesto. You’ll likely have leftover pesto. Simply store in an ice cube tray in the freeezer for future use.
- Fill the tart shells with the eggplant and water chestnut filling. Top with the eggplant slices.
- Garnish with more parsley.
- Serve at room temperature with a green salad.
- Bon appétit!
4. Tips and advices:
- You could also serve these as appetizers. Just line mini tartlet shells with the puff pastry dough and top with sliced grilled eggplant.
- Don’t discard the puff pastry remnants. Make some cheese twists the next day!
