The Reality of a Ratatouille & Goat Cheese Tart

So, I missed yoga, but got to the train station in time to get to the market buy my cheese and pine nuts and pick Kamal up from his train.

I went to a store I normally don't go to anymore and am I ever glad I did. I found Purple Haze Goat Cheese on sale. It is goat cheese flavored with lavender and fennel and it is delicious! The flavors match perfectly with the Ratatouille. I also picked up some fresh mozzarella to add to the tart. Because, while the goat cheese is delicious, the mozzarella melts nicely on top and gives it a nice, cheesy crust.

As soon as I got home I got to work making the crust. Here is what I used:


1 cup yellow cornmeal *
2/3 cup white pastry flour *
2 teaspoons of rosemary & thyme **
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons canola oil
4-5 tablespoons water

I mixed the first four ingredients together in my food processor and then added the butter and blended it until the mixture became chunky. Next I added the oil and water until a loose dough was created.

I pressed the dough into a 9 inch pie pan and baked it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

While making the dough I though of my grandmother, Jewel Celeste (better known as Nan those that love her, children and grandchildren). She would make dough look so easy and when I asked her how to make it she would say, "you have to follow directions and measure when you bake." She said this because she knows that I never follow directions and I never measure. After many failed cakes and pastries I am starting to the follow her advice. Last night I was wishing she was there to help me make her dough because no one does it better than she does.

* SO What I would do differently: The crust was good, but grainy because of the cornmeal. I would use a white cornmeal to eliminate some of the graininess or switch the measurements and use less cornmeal and more flour. I got this idea from my other grandmother, Mary Jane (better known as Mama Jane to all those that she is a mama to...the list is long), who happened to call just as I pulled the crust out of the oven. After I told her the problem and she gave me a solution she said in her sweet granny voice, "Well, you'll just eat it and it will be good!"...and it was.

**I loved the herbs I added to the dough. They added depth to an otherwise bland pastry dough.

After the crust was baked I added a layer of warmed, day old Ratatouille and a layer of goat cheese and mozzarella. I continued to layer the tart until the pie pan was full, then I covered the top with mozzarella, toasted pine nuts and a dash of love.

I covered the tart with foil and popped it back into the 350 degree oven and baked it for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes I removed the foil and continued to bake the tart for about 5 more minutes until the cheese was melted and browned.

I let the tart sit for about 5 minutes, while we poured some delicious red wine and then cut the pie into 8 divine pieces. It was so delicious my husband, sister-in-law and I ate the whole thing while watching Trading Places (a great Eddie Murphy/ Dan Akroyd collaboration if you haven't seen it). Letting the Ratatouille sit a day really made a difference in the flavor. All of the herbs and spices had a chance to settle in and they married nicely. It was truly a flavor explosion when the lavender and fennel goat cheese, the herbed pie crust and the Ratatouille become one dish.

So, last night there was plenty of love in the food and in the house, which made for a deliciously comfortable night.