Sunday afternoon. A wonderful lazy weekend, warm weather and lots of time to sew and chill out. Thinking of a swim but know that I need to organise dinner at some stage too. So tired of meat, even chicken. Looking for inspiration on the net, and plug in potatoes, zucchini into Google (because that is what i have plenty of). Some of the sites that come up have recipes that sound interesting but the pictures just don’t do it for me. Not getting the taste buds going at all. Then scroll through a few more pages and find Smitten Kitchen’s Galette “link“. This was posted in 2010! OMG, where have I been all this time – why haven’t I made this before! Oh yes, that definitely hits the spot. Decide to get the pastry underway before I go for a swim/exercise so that once I get home I can relax with a glass of wine before having to get dinner underway.
Here is the tart before it went into the oven:
Zucchini and Ricotta Galette
Serves 6
Pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
Filling:
1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 medium garlic clove3, minced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella
1 tablespoon basil leaves
Glaze:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Make dough: Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough, tip into the blender and whizz until the pastry looks like crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Make filling: Spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain for 30 minutes; gently blot the tops of the zucchini dry with paper towels before using. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and the garlic together; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon of the garlicky olive oil together and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare galette: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet (though if you line it with parchment paper, it will be easier to transfer it to a plate later). Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Shingle the zucchini attractively on top of the ricotta in rows, starting at the outside edge. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze.
Bake the galette until the cheese is puffed, the zucchini is slightly wilted and the galette is golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with torn basil leaves, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
And here is it when it came out:
This was MAGIC! The pastry was delicious. Mr MWCED thought it looked wonderful and enjoyed his slice, in fact he had two. The recipe says it serves 6. Four might be a more realistic number, if you are hungry and haven’t had any starters. See next photo for how much was left over after the two of us had our share:
We added a green salad, with fresh, out of the garden, lettuce, rocket, chives, parsley, oregano and tomatoes. Mmmmm, will definitely repeat this.
