A Taste of French – Recipe and Food Vocabulary: Tarte Courgette-Menthe – Zucchini Tart

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The Delicious Way to Explore French Cuisine and Language – Bon appétit !

Serves: 4-6 people
Time : 1h45
Preparation: 1h
Cooking: 45 min

Tarte Courgette-Menthe Recipe

Are you looking for a dish for your Sunday picnic? Or you are inviting some friends over for dinner and don’t know what to prepare? Here is a recipe that doesn’t require technical skills and that you can easily make with seasonal vegetables: une tarte courgette-menthe (zucchini and mint pie). Zucchini brings the légèreté (lightness) and mint adds the fraîcheur (freshness) to this summer harvest dish. This quiche végétarienne (vegetarian quiche) will please everyone.

Pour Commencer (To Begin)

1. Prepare the Courgettes (Zucchinis)

You will need 3 average-size zucchinis. Grate them. It is very important that you take the water out of the zucchinis to avoid your quiche to be soggy. To do so, pour salt on your grated vegetables and wait for about 10 minutes.

2. Make the Pâte Brisée (Pie Dough)

In the meantime, make the pâte brisée (pie dough). Fresh dough is always tastier than ready-to-bake ones! This dough may be easily frozen up to 1 month (so feel free to make more pie dough than you need and freeze the rest for another pie).

The ratio is quite simple: you mix twice as much flour as butter (in grams).

Pour quatre à six personnes (For four to six people), you will need:

125 grammes of beurre doux ramolli (1 stick of softened unsalted butter)
250 grammes de farine (two cups of flour),
one oeuf (egg),
one pincée de sel (pinch of salt), and
40 ml d’eau froide (two large tablespoons of cold water).
You may add one spoon of sugar too.

Add the softened butter to the flour and mix with the tips of your fingers until you get a sandlike texture.

Add the egg while you keep mixing the ingredients.

Finally, add the cold water.

If the dough is too soft (sticky), add flour. If it is too dry (crumbly), add a bit of water. The dough may be used for other quiches or tarts (Quiche lorraine, leek quiche, etc.).

Make a ball and wrap it in cling film. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for about 1 hour. Then, preheat your oven at 200°C (390 F°.)

3. Go Back to the Courgettes.

Squeeze the grated zucchinis with your hands to extract water out of it and put them in a bowl.
Add 350g of crème fraiche (1 1/3 cup of sour cream), four eggs, and a pinch of pepper.
Mélangez (mix).
Lastly, add four bouquets généreux de menthe fraiche (three generous bunches of fresh mint) that you will cut into small pieces with scissors.

Your Mixture is Ready! Put it aside.

4. Take Your Pie Dough Out of the Fridge.

Roll it on parchment paper and arrange it onto a 30-cm pie plate (about 11 inches). Make sure you have a bit of the dough hanging over the edges of the plate because the dough tends to shrink in the oven.
Versez (Pour) the mixture onto the pie and cover generously with grated cheese.
Put it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

A table ! (Dinner’s ready!)

Serve it warm with a salad and French dressing (as for the recipe of the French dressing, remember the 1/3/6 method: 1 spoon of mustard/3 spoons of vinegar/6 spoons of oil).

Et… n’oubliez pas ! (don’t forget!)

A recipe is a creation of your own. Feel free to add or subtract ingredients if you like. For instance, you may substitute the grated cheese on the top for goat or feta cheese in your mixture. It is equally délicieux (delicious).

The tarte courgette-menthe may also be served cold or even cut into pieces for an apéritif. Bon appétit !

Recette, en Bref :

Pour la pâte brisée (pie dough) :

125 grammes de beurre (1 stick of unsalted butter)
250 grammes de farine (2 cups of flour)
1 œuf (1 egg)
Une pincée de sel (a pinch of salt)
40 ml d’eau (2 tablespoons of cold water)

Pour la garniture (mixture) :

3 courgettes moyennes râpées (3 average-size grated zucchinis)
4 bouquets de menthe (4 bunches of fresh mint)
350 g crème fraîche (1 1/3 cup of sour cream)
Une pincée de sel / poivre (a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper)
Fromage râpé (grated cheese)

French Food and Recipe Vocabulary:

Apéritif (m.) : What is served before the meal. Most of the time, it is made of an alcoholic beverage that comes with small appetizers.
A table ! : Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner’s ready!
Ajouter : Add
Beurre (m.) : butter
Courgette (f.) : zucchini
Crème fraiche (f.) : sour cream
Délicieux (m.) : delicious
Eau (f.) : water
Farine (f.) : flour
Mélanger : Mix
Menthe (f.) : mint
Oeuf (m.) : egg
Végétarien (/végétarienne) : vegetarian
Verser : pour

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