Trader Joe's Sausage and Egg Tart with Cheese and Zucchini

The amazon 4 for 3 deal sucked me in again and I purchased a tart pan. Here is my very first tart. It was pretty delicious, I used a pretty basic crust recipe, and filled it with whatever that was in the fridge at the time. Those recipes are usually the best. And I totally just realized that I never poked my crust with the fork, but it still turned out ok. Next tart will have to use up the 50 metric tons of tomatoes that are about to ripen from my garden again.

Yummy Eggs, Trader Joe Sausage, and Zucchini Tart

Ingredients:

Crust

• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening
• 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) ice water
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Filling

• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup (8 ounces) milk
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 3 precooked sausages, I used Trader Joe’s Jalapeno Chicken Sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions:

1. For the crust: In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the butter and shortening, mixing quickly and lightly with a pastry knife, a mixer or your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Make a well in the center of the pastry, and add the water, egg yolk and vinegar. Mix until the dough just holds together, adding an additional tablespoon of water only if necessary; the more water you use, the tougher your crust will be.
2. Pat the dough into a 10 or 11-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Prick it all over with a fork. Bake it in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and let cool.
3. For the filling: In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs and milk, then stir in the cheese, add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste.
4. Pour the filling into the crust.
5. Bake the tart in a preheated 350°F oven for about 30 minutes, or until it’s set. Remove the tart from the oven, and cool to lukewarm before removing the bottom.