Christmas is the feast commemorating the birth of Christ. It is fixed in the liturgical year as December 25th and is preceded by four week of fasting called Advent.Savoury Vegetable Tart
The colourful layers of vegetables look very pretty when this pie is cut in wedges. Serve it for a first course and follow with an elegant tureen of bouillabaisse along with a crusty French bread.
Pastry for a double crust pie
Filling:
- 3 cups sliced carrots
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1½ cups diced turnip
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 leeks [white and light green part], chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Pinch dried basil
- ¾ cup cottage cheese, well drained
- 1 cup grated Swiss cheese
- 1 egg, well beaten
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ripe tomato, chopped and drained
Glaze:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. water
Garnish:
Thinly sliced cucumber
Preheat oven to 435ºF.
Grease a 10 inch springform pan Roll out 2/3 of the pastry in a circle large enough to line pan with 1 inch overhang. Roll out remaining pastry into a 10 inch circle and cover with waxed paper while preparing filling.
Filling:
Separately cook carrots, broccoli and turnip in boiling salted water, just until tendercrisp. Refresh under cold-running water; drain well and set aside.
In heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat; cook mushrooms, leeks, onions,
Garlic and basil until fragrant and tender. Set aside.
Combine Cottage cheese, Swiss cheese and egg; mix well.
To assemble, layer vegetables in pastry shell in the following order. Sprinkle each layer with cheese mixture and salt and pepper. Turnip, mushroom-leek mixture, broccoli and carrots. Top with chopped tomato.
Cover with reserved pastry, bringing overhang up over top crust. Cut a few openings to let steam escape.
Glaze:
With fork, mix together yolk and water. Brush over pastry.
Bake 50 to 60 minutes, and then remove sides from the springform pan. Loosen bottom with a knife and place delicately on a serving plate.
Garnish with cucumbers.
