Above left, cabbage and ham tart; above right, zucchini tart. (Photo — Yvona Fast)

This time of year, fresh vegetables are plentiful at farmers’ markets and family gardens. Everything must be harvested; left untended, zucchini will grow to a tough, baseball-bat size. You can’t have too many easy-to-prepare vegetable dishes. There is no better way to lock in the goodness of vegetables like cabbage, broccoli or zucchini than a savory main-course tart. Elegant yet easy to prepare, they can provide a nice lunch or supper with just a salad and, if you like, fresh bread or rolls. They can be made in advance, heated, and your meal is ready to go. A tart is simply a pie without a top crust. These are better than pies for presenting colorful ingredients, like green and yellow zucchini with tomatoes or corn with green and red peppers. The terms pie, tart and tartlet occur in some early cookbooks, such as Forme of Cury from the 14th century. The custom of wrapping sweet or savory ingredients in a pastry dates back to the Middle Ages. Elaborate, decorative tarts and pie