Tomato Tomatoe

Zucchini & Ricotta Galette

When the summer rolls around, I become obsessed with making galette’s. Galettes are a lot easier to make than a pie in my opinion. A galette is similar to a pie because the doughs are generally made with the same ingredients, and it’s known as the cousin of pie. The main difference between a galette and a pie is that it’s more rustic, forgiving and can be filled with savory or sweet ingredients.

I gravitate towards making galette’s multiple times throughout the summer because you can make them savory or sweet. They’re perfect to make when you want to take advantage of strawberry, rhubarb, blueberry or peach season. I also love making savory galette’s like heirloom tomato. My latest galette combination that I’ve been loving is zucchini and ricotta. The dough is simple to make, and I think at this point I could make it with my eyes closed! There aren’t many ingredients in the filling, so you want to make sure that you are using the best ingredients you can find. The filling consists of creamy ricotta cheese and thinly sliced zucchini. The dough is light, buttery, and it makes for a great breakfast, lunch or appetizer.

It’s no secret that zucchini is my favourite vegetable of all time. It’s versatile, mild in flavour and can be made into so many dishes from spaghetti all Nerano (which is my favourite pasta ever), chocolate zucchini cake, zucchini parmigiana among many other favourites. The zucchini works so well in this galette and complements the creamy ricotta and buttery crust perfectly.

My dough is so easy to make, I’ve made it dozens of times and it always comes out perfect. I like making the pastry dough by hand but you could definitely use a food processor. The filling is very easy to make too. You place all of the ingredient in a bowl with sugar along with a few other ingredients and then spoon the filling directly onto the cold pie dough. Your house will smell amazing as it bakes! Galette’s will always be a staple dessert for me and once you try this recipe, they’ll become a staple in your recipe repertoire!

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zucchini & ricotta galette

Ingredients

• 1 pie disc
• 2 medium sized zucchini
• 1 1/2 cups fresh ricotta
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used a sharp cheddar)
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 egg
• flaky salt

Ingredients – Pie Dough

• 2 cups AP flour
• 1.5 sticks of cold butter (unsalted) cut into cubes
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 7-8 tbsp ice water (plus more if needed)
• 2 tsp salt

Directions – Pie Dough

1. To make the dough, combine flour and butter in a large bowl and mash/ work the butter between your fingers until the butter has flattened and is the size of peas. Add apple cider vinegar, salt and a few tbsp of water at a time and mix together with your hands until the dough starts to form. If the dough is too dry add a splash more water. Work the dough until it comes together. The key is not to work the dough too much, you want to keep it as cold as possible. This will ensure you have a flaky crust. The dough should be shaggy looking.
2. Form into a disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1.5 hours. The dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

Directions – Filling & Assembly

1. Slice the zucchini into thin rounds. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. The salt will draw out the moisture. Set aside for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes place the zucchini in a clean kitchen towel or cheese cloth and gently squeeze the zucchini to remove the water.
2. When you are ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. While the oven heats, prepare the filling. Mix ricotta with lemon zest, grated garlic, shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.
4. Once the oven has come to temperature, remove the pie dough from the fridge (see note). Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll the dough out to 1/8 of an inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough onto the baking sheet using a rolling pin.
5. Add the ricotta mixture to the middle of the dough and press it down with your hands to smooth out the mixture, leaving a 2 inch border.
6. Arrange the zucchini rounds in concentric circles over the ricotta. Scatter the sliced cherry tomatoes over the zucchini, cut side down. Sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano on top. Fold the dough edges over the filling (the middle should be exposed with zucchini).
7. Beat an egg and brush the egg over the border of the dough.
8. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

1. If the pie dough has been chilling for 1.5 hours, remove the dough from the fridge once the oven has preheated. The dough will be ready to roll out. If the dough has been in the fridge for longer than 2 hours, you will need to let the dough sit out at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes (depending on how cold the dough is). This will make it easier to roll the dough and it won’t crumble as you roll it. You do want the dough to still have a slight chill to it as this will ensure a flaky crust.
2. I’ve made the dough with salted butter. You can do this too if you don’t have any unsalted butter, just omit the 2 tsp of salt.
3. The pie dough will last in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be made in advance.