I made this tart for Easter dinner last spring and taste tested it on 24 of my relatives. Since everyone loved it, from oldest to youngest I thought I’d share it with you. The veggies I used were ones that had been stored over the winter from last fall’s crop, but I’m sharing it now, since you may have fresh root vegetables that you are harvesting. I made a large batch, but you can scale it down to family size quite easily. Feel free to add or subtract root veggies using what you have on hand, it tastes just as good no matter the mix of veggies.

Ingredients:

6 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 huge, sweet potato or 3 smaller ones, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch lengths

3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 onion, peeled and cut into small pieces

¾ cup olive oil

¾ cup sugar

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

2 teaspoons dried sage. If you have fresh sage, use 1 Tablespoon of leaves

4 oz. goat cheese

1 ½ 9-inch pie dough rounds. Roll together into one piece large enough to cover your casserole dish.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400.

Put the cut-up veggies in a large zip lock bag, pour in the olive oil and seal bag. Rotate bag until all veggies are coated with oil. Dump out onto one or two rimmed baking sheets, single layer, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Put in the oven to roast until golden around the edges and tender, 30-35 min. Let cool.

While the veggies are roasting, make the glaze:

Cook sugar in 6 tablespoons for water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is slightly amber colored, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vinegar and a pinch of salt, swirling pan to combine. Quickly pour the glaze into the casserole dish, tilt and rotate to evenly coat. Scatter the rosemary and sage over top.

Put all the veggies into the casserole dish on top of the glaze. Wiggle them around and press them together gently. Crumble the goat cheese over the vegetables.

Drape the rolled-out pie crust over the vegetables in the casserole dish, tuck the edges of the crust down along the inside edge. You may need to use a butter knife to gently push the crust between the veggies and the edges of the dish.

Bake until crust looks dry, about 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 and bake until crust is golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Dale’s Grapefruit-Basil Martini

Here is a delicious cocktail that my brother came up with on the same day I made the veggie tart. It was delicious and refreshing.

3 parts fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice

1 part grapefruit vodka (Dale uses Citron – the one with no added sugar)

½ part Elderflower liqueur (Dale uses St. Germain)

½ part fresh lime juice

½ part simple syrup to taste (1 part sugar, 2 parts water)

1-2 sprigs fresh basil

2-3 drops grapefruit bitters

Muddle basil in the grapefruit juice and refrigerate for 24 hours in a Mason jar. Stir or shake periodically. After 24 hours, strain out the basil (a few remaining green flecks are okay). Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with basil sprig (which really provides more of a basil punch!)

Photo credits: Joy Johnson (all)