EASY & FANCY SWIRLED ZUCCHINI TART

Everyone who has a garden knows that excess zucchini is a real (good!) problem.  All winter long, you dream about getting those beautiful green beasts fresh from the garden, then all summer long, you dream of what to do with the mountain of squash that your garden is overproducing.  Before you start to lose friends and people stop answering your calls for fear of you giving them more zucchini, check out this recipe.

As an added perk, it uses quite a few eggs, too.  It's such a good problem to have, but too many eggs is a real one when you have your own laying hens.  We thought five hens would be a good number to keep this year, which seemed reasonable.  Shows you how well I do with math.  Five hens + an average of four eggs a day = 20 eggs a week, give or take a few.  That, my friend, is a lot of eggs.  We give quite a few away to friends, but we also eat a lot of eggs.  A lot. of. eggs.  Happily, this is a delicious way to use a few.  It also makes great leftovers and reheats nicely (i.e., when you're sick of summer cooking, toss one of these in the oven and you'll have a few meals out of one cooking session).  Tip: invest in a toaster oven for summertime baking.  It's not quite as great as a regular one, but it doesn't heat up the house as badly.

EASY & FANCY SWIRLED ZUCCHINI TART
makes: one 9in. pan
takes: about 10 mins. prep. 30-35 mins. baking
YOU WILL NEED:
2 medium zucchini or summer squash- or one of each

For the crust:
1/2 c. walnuts
2 T. flour (can use cocont flour for a gluten-free crust)
2 T. butter

For the filling:
8 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt (or hickory smoked salt, if you have it)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

Preheat oven to 350'F.

In a round, deep 9" pie pan or tart pan, melt the butter in the microwave on high for 30 seconds until melted.  Use a food processor to grind up the walnuts and flour together and pulse until sand-like in texture.  Stir in the walnut mixture and press in to pan bottom.  Chill in the refrigerator while working on next step.

With a mandoline slicer or a vegetable peeler, slice the squash lengthwise in strips about one and a half inches wide.  Place the strips upright around the pan, loosely pressing them in concentric circles into the pan, working towards the center.  Keep pressing strips in until you reach the center.

In a bowl, beat the spices, garlic, cheese, and egg together, then pour over the squash.  Bake at 350'F for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Serve warm.