A Zucchini and Sausage Tart

Preface: This is a post I put together last week, before I injured my finger and got the splint...

Here's another idea for zucchini season: une tarte aux courgettes avec saucisson et oignons. All the ingredients go in pre-cooked (or at least blanched) so it doesn't have to stay in the oven very long. You can make it ahead of time and then put it in the oven half an hour or less before you're ready to serve it.

The first step is to sauté some onions slowly in a frying pan on top of the stove. They need to cook for 30 to 45 minutes at low temperature. To help them along, add half a cup of white wine or water after the onions have browned slightly. I also added a tablespoonful of honey and a couple of bay leaves to the pan for flavor.

The second step is to blind-bake the pie shell. Put the pan with the pastry in it into a medium oven for 20 minutes or so, or until the pastry is lightly browned.

While all that is going on, slice a zucchini squash thinly and blanch the slices in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes to soften them. Scoop them out of the boiling water into a big bowl of cold water to stop the cooking, and then transfer to a colander to drain.

Finally, cut a pre-cooked sausage into thin slices. Here in France, I bought a saucisson à l'ail or garlic sausage that is sold cuit, or completely cooked. It is made by a company in Fleury-les-Aubrais, just outside the city of Orléans. The label says the sausage is 97% pork, with the garlic for flavor and some egg white as a binding agent. It's very firm and it's easy to slice thinly with a sharp knife.

Now everything is cooked, at least partially. To put the tart together, spread the cooked onions on the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange the sausage slices on top of the onion, and the zucchini slices on top of the sausage. One other ingredient is some grated cheese on top — parmesan or comté or cheddar — whatever you like. Bake the tart for about 20 minutes or until it is hot all the way through and the cheese on top has melted and browned.