Zucchini Polenta Tart

By khoglan1

Ingredients

• 2.2 - 2.2 pounds zucchini
• 1 1/2 - 1 1/2 cups cornmeal (not precooked, preferably stone-ground, possibly with dried mushrooms)
• 1/2 - 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• - olive oil
• - herbes de Provence (or a mix of dried thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary)
• - salt, pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the polenta according to package directions, until it gets to a rather thick texture. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Pour the polenta in a 10-inch springform tart pan. If you don't own a springform tart pan, get out of my sight. I am, of course, kidding : line a 10-inch cake or tart pan (see how lenient I am? cake or tart pan!) with parchment paper and use that.

While the polenta cooks, rinse the zucchini, trim the ends, and slice thinly, preferably using the mandoline you got from your parents for your twenty-fifth birthday. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan, add in the zucchini slices, sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and herbes de provence, and toss to coat. Put the lid on, and cook on medium-low heat for twenty to thirty minutes, until the zucchini is just cooked but not so much that it falls apart. Stir gently from time to time while it cooks to make sure all the slices cook evenly, but make sure not to turn them to mush. Transfer to a colander, and leave to drain.

Put the polenta into the oven for about 15 minutes, until the top of the polenta turns crusty and golden. Remove from the oven, remove the sides of the springform pan (be careful : it will be, obviously, very hot). If you're not using a springform pan, just pop the disk of polenta out of the pan you're using, which should be easy since you have lined it with parchment paper. In either case, put the disk of polenta on a cookie sheet, and return to the oven for another ten minutes, until the sides are also crusty and golden. Remove from the oven. Flip the disk of polenta, remove the bottom of the springform pan (or the parchment paper) and return on cookie sheet (the not-yet-crispy side will face upwards, the crispy side downwards) and into the oven for a final ten to fifteen minutes, until the disk of polenta is crisp all over.

Remove from the oven, and arrange the zucchini slices harmoniously over the top of the polenta disk. Return into the oven for about ten minutes, top with parmesan, cut in slices and serve -- warm, at room temperature or cold.