Roasted Vegetable Tart

If you are a food lover like I am, you probably get a thrill going to Williams-Sonoma kitchen stores.  I can spend hours browsing there.  It's dreamland for me! 

My recent trip lead me straight to the cookbook section and my eyes landed on a beautiful new book called Plenty.  It is written by the chef/owner of Ottolenghi, a renowned restaurant in London, U.K.  Turning the pages and gazing at the beautiful pictures, I was stuck on one.  "Ottolenghi's Very Full Roasted Vegetable Tart" imprinted itself on my mind until today when I made a "Tracy Cooks it Right" version.

This tart is a bit more complicated than my usual recipes but the end result is worth it.  Please don't let a few extra steps keep you from trying it.  And take a look at the beautiful book that inspired it.

Roasted Vegetable Tart

1 medium eggplant, diced in 3/4-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
6 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 (6-ounce) sweet potato, peeled and diced in 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 small zucchini, diced in 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 frozen pie crust, thawed
1/2 cup jarred roasted red and/or yellow peppers, well drained
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese
2 ounces lowfat Feta cheese
7 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup nonfat liquid egg substitute
1/2 cup nonfat creamer (I used So Delicious Original Coconut Milk Creamer)

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with olive oil spray.  Place eggplant on pan and toss with 4 teaspoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Roast 12 minutes, remove from oven and stir in sweet potato.  Roast 12 more minutes, remove from oven and stir in zucchini.  Roast 12 more minutes, remove from oven, and reduce oven heat to 375°F.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and bay leaves.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and golden, about 20 minutes.  Discard bay leaves.  Let onion cool several minutes.

Prick pie crust all over with fork and spread onions evenly in the bottom.  Place roasted vegetables on top of onions, and next, the peppers.  Sprinkle with half the thyme.  Dot with little pieces of the ricotta and Feta.  Lay tomato halves cut side up on top of the cheese.

In small bowl, whisk together egg substitute, creamer, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.  Pour evenly into pan.  Sprinkle with remaining thyme.  Place pan on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes, or until filling is golden on top and set.  Cool 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings, 8 points plus for Weight Watchers or 327 calories each.

Note: The original recipe did not call for light ingredients.  You could make this with your own crust, regular cheeses, eggs, heavy cream, and lots of olive oil.  The nutritional information would be much different!