Twirl up some veggies (and bacon if you like) to make rosettes that add to a lovely brunch experience with this savory egg tart. The polenta crust can even be gluten free if you select the proper cornmeal.
Flowers make food prettier, do they not? Recently I’ve enjoyed seeing the many ways that flowers can garnish a springtime dish. If you like floral garnishes too, don’t miss my recent recipe for pretty pandan crepes, pictured below.
However, inspiration for this particular brunch tart came from one of those ubiquitous cooking videos I scrolled upon in my Facebook feed (and never could find again). But my first attempt to make carrot rosettes was not all sunshine and roses, despite the enticing video depiction.
Because I am not in possession of a mandoline slicer, which would make the slicing of the carrots easier, preparing the vegetables took a very long time and delayed the meal. So for my next attempt at the tart, I turned to bacon and yellow squash. Much simpler. I was able to acquire enough orange carrot strips with my basic vegetable peeler to put together six orange rosettes. To that I added six bacon roses, which blessedly require no slicing at all. And finally, I exulted in the ease with which my vegetable peeler sliced the yellow strips of squash.
While this brunch tart does take some prep work, you can opt to do some of the steps a day before. For example, you could peel and blanch the carrots, bake the bacon roses, grate the cheese, cook the polenta, and bake the crust. Once those are ready, the tart comes together easily. And it bakes in under 30 minutes.
If you have enough polenta left over, you can make some additional smaller tartlets. You may need to whip up additional filling, which I did by using 2 eggs and scaling the other ingredients down accordingly. I used deli ham for the rosettes instead of bacon for these:
So who would you like to invite over to enjoy a savory rosette brunch tart? I’d choose my mom if she lived closer. But I’m blessed to know some other women from church and from my local mom’s group who might like to join me for a leisurely brunch one day. All I need to do is pick a day, issue an invitation, and get my house cleaned up. The pleasure of company at my table is worth the time and energy spent.
Savory Rosette Brunch Tart with Polenta Crust
Ingredients:
- 1+1/2 cups cornmeal (gluten free if required)
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 6 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup grated cheese (I used Manchego) or cheese alternative
- 2 large carrots, peeled
- 1 medium yellow squash
- 1 medium zucchini
- 6 to 8 bacon strips (or 2 purple carrots for vegetarian)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Directions:
- Slice carrots and squash lengthwise with a vegetable peeler. Bring broth to boil and blanch carrot and squash strips for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove vegetable strips from broth with a fork and rinse. Set aside while making polenta.
- To make polenta crust, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Add cornmeal to hot broth and stir continuously until thickened. Let cool for several minutes, then spread into a greased tart pan lined with parchment to form a thick crust. There will be some polenta remaining. Bake crust for 20 minutes. Check to see if large cracks have formed, and if desired, patch the cracks with some of the extra polenta and bake again for 5 minutes. Remove tart pan from oven and let crust cool.
- While crust bakes and cools, roll the bacon to form rosettes and secure each with a toothpick. Bake bacon rosettes until crisp but not dark. Let cool and then remove toothpicks. Next, roll up carrot strips to form 6 to 8 rosettes. Finally roll up yellow squash strips for for 6 to 8 separate rosettes. Set aside while filling is made.
- To make filling, beat together eggs, mayonnaise, paprika, and salt. Stir in grated cheese. Pour filling into crust. Distribute cheese evenly and then sprinkle filling with green onions.
- Arrange bacon and vegetable rosettes near the perimeter of the crust, pressing them down into the filling and crust. Slice zucchini into thin half rounds and place these inside the rosette circle. Bake tart at 375 degrees F (190 C) for 20 to 25 minutes or until middle is set. Slice tart and serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftover slices for future enjoyment.
I’m back at Fiesta Friday this week, hosted by Angie at FiestaFriday.net.
Swirls and Spice 
Very pretty tart, love that you made bacon into a rosette! -Kat
Thanks, Kat! We had some leftover bacon rosettes that I threw in with lunch today. (If you’re on Instagram, it’s today’s Instastory.) 😉
Beautiful use of flower designs! I also like your pandan crepes. If only I could find some around here, but at least I can fine some of those pretty violets easily enough.
Yes, violets would accent any crepe recipe. I have several recipes here on the blog. Love them!
How lovely! This looks truly beautiful and delicious!!
Oh wow, how beautiful! I’ve done bacon rosettes but didn’t think about using them to decorate a tart. What a great idea! 😍
Such a pretty tart, I love it😊
Wow! That’s really neat!!! If you do buy a mandoline, make sure and get a metal mesh glove so you don’t lose any fingers.
Good to know! Thanks!
The perfect lunch idea! One of the most delicious tarts I have ever tried!