Recipe for Potato, Tomato and Cheese Tart

When it comes to shedding pounds in the new year, it pays to shave any calorie you can. Even when you're indulging.

With pies and tarts, the crust often is a serious caloric offender.

Pastry crusts in particular generally are loaded with butter or shortening. But there are ways to lighten the load.

Paper-thin phyllo dough, perhaps best known from the honey and nut filled Greek dessert ba-klava, can make a delicate and flakey crust that works as well for savory dishes, such as quiche, as it does for sweet treats like fruit pies or strudels.

To use the tissue-like dough, you must brush or spray small amounts of oil or butter between the layers as you stack them to make a crust. Cooking spray is the easiest -- and most calorie con-scious -- way to do this.

Eight or 10 layers usually are enough. And to make it easier to work with you can use two sheets at a time. Phyllo crusts also offer a time savings, as they don't need to be pre-baked.

Packages of phyllo dough can be found in grocers' freezer sections, alongside the frozen crusts and pastries.

Other alternative crusts can be made from cooked rice or spaghetti.

To make a rice crust, combine 2 ½ cups of cooked rice with a tablespoon of olive oil, a lightly beaten egg and ¼ cup of shredded low-fat cheese. For a quiche, press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and pre-bake for 10 minutes at 350 F before adding and baking the filling.

To make a similar crust with pasta, cook 6 ounces of spaghetti, then drain it and combine it with 2 beaten eggs, 1 tablespoon of oil and 1/3 cup of low-fat mozzarella cheese. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan to make a crust.

Try this spaghetti crust filled with layers of sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and ricotta cheese. Bake at 350 F until the crust is golden and crispy on the outside and the filling is hot.

Thinly sliced potatoes also make a wonderful savory crust. In this recipe, sliced Yukon Gold pota-toes are baked to a crispy crust and filled with layers of melted cheese and plum tomatoes.

For the best flavor, a full fat Gruyere cheese is blended with reduced fat cheddar. To make the dish even lighter, you can use only reduced-fat cheese. Serve this dish with a salad of crisp let-tuce and slices of crusty Italian bread.

POTATO, TOMATO AND CHEESE TART

Start to finish: 1 hour 45 minutes (45 minutes active)

Servings: 6

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1 cup grated reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

4 cups thinly sliced unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

5 large plum tomatoes, halved crosswise, seeded and thinly sliced

Heat the oven to 425 F. Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. In a small bow, combine the cheeses and set aside.

Place the potato slices in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet over low, heat the oil. Add the garlic and stir until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the salt and pepper.

Uncover the potatoes, add the oil and garlic from the skillet, then gently mix with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl with a new piece of plastic wrap and microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the potato slices are tender but not falling apart.

Arrange a layer of overlapping potato slices first around the sides of the prepared pie pan, then over the bottom. Sprinkle half of the cheese mixture over the potatoes.

Top the cheese with half of the tomato slices. Arrange the remaining potato slices in a layer over the tomatoes, then top with the remaining cheese. Arrange the remaining tomato slices on top.

Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the pie, then cover it tightly with foil. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the potatoes at the center feel tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.

Uncover the pie and bake for 15 minutes longer, or until the potatoes on the outside of the pie are golden and the tomatoes on top are slightly wrinkled. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 259 calories; 113 calories from fat; 13 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 33 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrate; 13 g protein; 2 g fiber; 611 mg sodium.