Maria Speck's Artichoke Tart with Polenta Crust

Does anyone else read the name of a recipe and immediately want to make it? Even when several components include things they’ve never made before? 

I read The Wednesday Chef and she talked about this recipe. “Maria Speck’s Artichoke Tart with Polenta Crust.” I mean seriously, aren’t you drooling? So what if I’d never made polenta before, didn’t know where to find artichoke hearts, and forgot to buy half of the ingredients for the custard – I was making the recipe come hell or high water.

Or burned fingers, but we’ll get there in a minute.

Never one to assume I can’t do something, I made the monthly pilgrimage to Whole Foods hoping it might help me find polenta and artichoke hearts. Luckily, it came through. Polenta is really just coarser ground corn meal, so if you can’t find ground polenta in your area I think it’d be a fine substitution. However, I was lucky enough to find Bob’s Red Mill Polenta in the cereal aisle and canned artichoke hearts packed in water next to the canned beans. Whew.

Everything went fairly smoothly – the polenta came together really easily and the custard was super simple the make. So don’t worry if you’ve never done this sort of thing before, give it a try. And don’t forget to wear oven mitts.

Yes, I know, Baking 101. After you use oven mitts to take something out of the oven, you can’t them move it with bare hands. It was a brain fart on my end, but luckily the blister is already starting to heal. Pro Tip from a Part-Time Blogger: safety first! Wear oven mitts. Always.

Maria Speck's Artichoke Tart with Polenta Crust

Slightly adapted from The Wednesday Chef

The original recipe called for scallions, parsley, and rosemary. I think that would taste amazing. I just didn’t have any of it on hand. I did, however, have capers. So I subbed it and it tasted great. The custard part of the recipe is quite flexible so don’t feel tied to follow the directions exactly.

You should also know that this recipe is geared toward making a 10-inch tart. I don’t have a 10-inch pan (nor a round cake pan in general) so I used my 9-inch tart pan and 2 ramekins for the extra. The 2 tiny tarts were delicious and adorable, so feel free to follow suit.

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I used chicken broth because I had it on hand)
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used Cheddar since I had it on hand)
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Artichoke filling:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used non-fat)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons capers

1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces artichoke hearts, canned or frozen (about 1 1/2 cans)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Equipment

Tart pan (9-inch + ramekins or 10-inch) or 10-inch cake pan, mixing bowls, large saucepan

Make the Polenta Crust: Bring the broth and water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Slowly add the polenta in a thin stream, whisking constantly, and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon every few minutes to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in the cheese, egg and pepper.

Grease a tart pan or cake pan with olive oil or cooking spray. Have a container of cold water ready. Pour polenta into the pan and press it out, pushing it up the sides. Dip a wooden spoon or your hands in the cold water to help the polenta along. Set aside for 15 minutes and then form an even rim about 3/4 of an inch thick with moist fingers, pressing firmly.

Put a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 375 F.

Make the filling: Whisk the yogurt, eggs, capers, salt and pepper together until well-combined. Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and distribute them evenly over the polenta crust. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top of the artichokes and pour the yogurt filling evenly over the artichokes. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes, though 40 is better. The tart can be prepared up to one day ahead.