Ratatouille Tart

In my opinion, this is the best thing I've ever made.  I don't say that lightly.  Not to be overly boastful, but I've made a lot of good things.  But this is the one dish that rules them all.  Maybe it's the french shallots, maybe the fresh garden tomatoes, maybe the hardneck garlic...  Take the time to make it and decide for yourself.  It's a modified version of Ellie Krieger's Ratatouille Tart.

To experience this bliss, you'll need:  cornmeal, flour, salt, butter, vegetable oil, water, eggplant, squash or zucchini, tomato, olive oil, cooking spray, french shallots (or regular), hardneck garlic (or regular), white wine, herbs of choice - thyme and rosemary are suggested, goat cheese, and parmesan.  And definitely some time.  It's worth it.

Crust:
2/3 c cornmeal
1/3 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 t or less salt (see note)
2 T cold butter
2 T vegetable oil
3 T water
Note:  Amount of salt should vary with how much parmesan you want to add later.  Both will add saltiness to this and you don't want to lose the flavor of the other ingredients.  If you're big on parmesan, I'd expect you can cut the salt in the crust entirely.
Preheat oven to 350F.  Pulse dry ingredients in food processor a few times until mixed.  Add fats and pulse just until mixed.  Add water and pulse just until it comes together.  Press into a tart pan or a 8" springform pan, covering bottom and ~1/4" or 1/2" up the side.  Gently press foil down onto tart dough to cover, and then weigh the foil down with pie weights (or dry rice or dry beans that you save for this purpose).  Bake covered for 10 minutes.  Carefully uncover, then continue to bake for another 5 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.  While crust is baking, prep vegetables.  Change oven temp to 400F.

Veggies:
Thinly (~1/8" thick) slice:
1 japanese eggplant (a thinner, longer variety similar in shape to a zucchini)
1 yellow squash or a zucchini
2-3 small diameter tomatoes - make these slices a bit thicker, ~1/4"
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and then lay these slices out as a single layer.  Spray with olive oil or more non-stick cooking spray and very lightly sprinkle with salt.  Allow to sit for a few minutes and then put in the oven for ~15 minutes or until soft but not brown.  Cool.  I have a lot of veggies in these pictures because I doubled the recipe!

Return oven to 350F

As veggies are roasting, prepare the remainder of the filling:
2 shallots, very thinly sliced - I recommend french shallots
1 clove hardneck garlic
A dash of white wine (optional)
A pinch of dried thyme leaves
A few leaves of fresh rosemary, chopped finely
Olive oil
Note:  French shallots, pictured here, just have a richer flavor and are indescribably better than regular shallots (which I also love).  The hardneck garlic I've had is much stronger than the standard garlic varieties you can buy at the grocery store.  If you cannot find hardneck garlic, then you may want to amp up the amount used if you're a fan of garlic.  If you're in the Iowa City area, then Adelyn's Garden (run by Dave and Katharine Campbell) has a stall at the Farmer's Market with excellent garlic, squash, eggplant and even the french shallots, for that matter!
Another note:  The herbs are my choice.  This would also be great with basil or I think even a bit of sage or fresh oregano could have its place here though I haven't tried them.  Chives could be good, too.
Saute shallots on med-low heat in just a bit of olive oil until soft.  Add minced garlic, cook for ~30 seconds.  Add dash of white wine and herbs.  Allow to cook until wine has evaporated.  Feel free to repeat addition/evaporation of wine if time/patience.

Assembly:
Cooled crust
Cooled baked veggies
Sauteed shallot mix
small round of goat cheese
FRESHLY shredded parmesan

Take a minute to carefully distribute the shallot mixture across tart crust so that every bite gets a bit of it.  It's worth the minute.  Top with a thin layer of freshly shredded parmesan.  Layer veggies in a pretty way - I usually alternate eggplant-squash-tomato around the outside, then whatever I have the most of will determine how I pattern the inner layers.  I like to put a couple of slices of tomato over the top at the end.  Dot the vegetables with small chunks of goat cheese, just break off chunks that are ~1/4" square and put all around the tart about 1" apart.  Top with a generous layer of freshly shredded parmesan.  Bake at 350F for ~20-30 minutes or until cheese is melty and you're salivating because it smells so good.  Allow to cool a bit (tortuous) but serve warm.

The crust is flaky-crumbly-slightly crunchy.  The parmesan lends saltiness (as does the salt in the crust), the goat cheese is creamy.  Fresh tomatoes from my garden are amazing and, to me, the quintessential summer food.  The dash of white wine and those french shallots add a tangy...  I can't really explain it.  Just make it.  It's delicious.