Three Cheese Zucchini Tart

5 from 18 votes

Three Cheese Zucchini Tart

Three Cheese Zucchini Tart is easy to make, beautiful to behold, and delicious to taste! It's made by spreading an awesome cream cheese and Parmesan cheese mixture on a simple no-yeast crust, sprinkling on some Mozzarella cheese, and layering thinly sliced zucchini. Three Cheese Zucchini Tart is perfect for a light dinner, or as an appetizer. It can be eaten hot, warm, or cold, and reheats beautifully.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Idle Time35

Total Time1

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 465kcal

Ingredients

Crust

1 ¼ cups (6.25 ounces, 177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
10 Tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks, 5 ounces, 142 grams) cold unsalted butter cut into ½-inch pieces
½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons ice water
2 Tablespoons chilled Vodka (See Tip 1)

Zucchini

1 ½ pounds (20 ounces, 567 grams) zucchini, unpeeled and sliced ⅛-inch thick (See Tip 2)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

Three Cheese Filling

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature (See Tip 3)
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (1 ounce, 28 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon heavy cream (optional)

Instructions

Crust

Add flour and salt to a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse process 4 or 5 times to thoroughly combine. Add butter; pulse process 10 to 12 times until the mixture is the size of small peas.
Add wine vinegar, water, and Vodka. Pulse process 5 or 6 times until dough comes together into a shaggy dough.
Dump the dough on a floured surface. Form it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Zucchini

While the dough is chilling, place the sliced zucchini in a colander set over a plate. Toss with 1 teaspoon of salt, and let sit for 30 minutes.
Place zucchini slices in a single layer on paper towels. Blot well with additional paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.
Transfer zucchini to a bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Three Cheese Filling

Add cream cheese, garlic, thyme, pepper, and Parmesan cheese to a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined and smooth, about 1 minute. If the mixture is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream to thin it out.

Building Three Cheese Zucchini Tart

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Roll dough into an 11 to 12-inch circle. Trim to 11 inches. (See Tip 4)
Spread cheese mixture over crust to within ½-inch of the edges. Sprinkle on Mozzarella cheese.
Layer zucchini slices in tightly overlapping circles, starting ½ inch from the edge of the pastry. Continue overlapping circles of zucchini until the whole tart is covered. Sprinkle on the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Cut into wedges and serve. (See Tip 5)
Yield: 6 servings.

Video

Notes

You may omit the Vodka and use chilled water. Unlike water, Vodka does not contribute to gluten formation; tablespoons keep the crust tender and flaky.
I used a 3 mm blade on my food processor to perfectly slice the zucchini.
For the cream cheese, I used Neufchâtel, which has ⅓ less fat than regular cream cheese. You could also use low-fat cream cheese.
When I've made this tart in the past, I would roll the dough out onto a floured surface, trim it, and transfer it to a silicone-lined baking sheet. To make things much easier, I now roll the dough out directly on the silicone mat, trim it, and transfer the silicone mat to the baking sheet!
The leftovers can be refrigerated and served cold or reheated in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.

Nutrition