Ricotta-Beet Tart (Gluten-Free)

For someone who likes to cook, there is little else as pleasing as a party of good eaters. And I've had the fortune to happen upon one such group, who not only enjoy a good multi course meal, but are game for just about anything I concoct, whether it's dainty, airy-fairy finger foods or a comforting pot of winter stew. Consider them my dinner club--we get together every so often (never often enough) for outrageously long meals, where the wine is passed around, plates are filled multiple times, and conversation winds from neighborhood happenings to the Star Trib's latest theater review. One of these eaters is also gluten-free, which challenges me to look for recipes beyond my normal repertoire of, well, bread and cake. And, luckily, I have a good friend who has recently embarked on the adventure of experimenting with non-wheat flours and supplies me with her favorite creations.

This recipe I served at our most recent get-together. It skirts ever so slightly around avoiding flour, as the crust is made with a gluten-free flour mix. But I was very taken by this tart, with its pretty spiral of ruby and gold beets and mound of ricotta, sharpened with feta crumbs and wild rosemary. The dough proved tricky to work with, as it was very sticky, but once flattened out (on some foil, to be safe) it baked up into a sturdy crust, texture reminiscent of a biscuit or scone. Slicing and serving was a cinch. 

I found the recipe through an amalgamation of old fashioned and mobile sources. It was recommended by my friend, who in turn found it in a cookbook by one of her favorite bloggers. As my friend and the cookbook reside in Michigan, she took a picture of the page and emailed it to me. And then I projected the recipe on my phone while I cooked. The recipe itself is similarly at odds with itself--the finished tart looks gloriously rustic, yet the crust required a trip to the now-stuffed shelf of alternative flours, a category which only recently showed up on grocery aisle signage. However you choose to recreate it, you'll have a bright, easy-to-eat offering for yourself, your dinner club, or your summer evening nosh.

Ricotta-Beet Tart (adapted from the Ricotta and Beet Galette with Teff Crust in Naturally Ella's cookbook)

Ingredients for crust*:

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cold

1 egg

1-2 TBSP ice water (I stick a cup of cold water in the freezer when I start to mix the crust. You could also just stick a couple ice cubes into a cup of water and use that immediately.)

Ingredients for filling:

4 beets (I used a mixture of golden and red)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup ricotta

1/4 cup crumbled feta

2 tsp. dried rosemary

Directions:

--Roast the beets. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and oil a large baking pan. Peel beets and slice into 1/4-inch slices. Toss with salt and layer evenly in pan. Roast until a butter knife can slice through the beets, 40 to 50 minutes.

--Make crust. Mix flour and salt together. Cut butter into the flour, using two knives or your fingers. Once the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces, add egg and water. Stir until combined. Form in a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

--Make filling. Mix together ricotta, feta, and rosemary. Refrigerate while you prepare the crust.

--Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and set on the parchment. Spread out into a dinner plate-sized oval (12 to 14 inches), covering hands with flour if it gets too sticky. Spread on ricotta mixture, leaving a 2-inch edge, and then layer the beets on top. Fold the edges of the crust over the filling.

--Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until crust feels firm. Let cool 20 minutes. Use the edges of the foil to transfer to a serving plate. Then carefully remove foil, using a spatula if necessary to lift up the tart so you can peel away the center bits.

*If you'd like to stick with a regular, full-wheat crust, I recommend this crust recipe.