I love it when zucchini is plentiful! There are SO many recipes you can make with zucchini!! The other day I found a recipe for Zucchini and Ricotta Galette. Oh my goodness! It was SO delicious! If you really want to impress the heck out of someone, make this recipe! The flavors of zucchini, garlic and ricotta are perfect together! The crust was absolutely fantastic! It was so light with lots of flaky layers. I have to admit...when I rolled out the dough for the crust, I was very nervous. It was very soft...so unlike traditional pie crust that I am used to. When I got to the part where you fold the edges of the crust up over the filling...the dough was not cooperating AT ALL! But....I made it happen and I just went with it! I am so glad I did. I just trusted that it would all turn out well in the end. And oh my did it ever turn out! Really, really impressed with the dough! The trouble that I had, and maybe you will have if you give it a whirl, is the dough got soft and meltey and sticky very fast...however, if you can get the dough up off the baking sheet and get it over the filling as best you can, it won't even matter! It will bake up beautifully, and look all rustic! Oh yes!! It was so worth it!
ZUCCHINI AND RICOTTA GALETTE
MAKE THE PASTRY DOUGH: WHISK TOGETHER 1 1/4 C. FLOUR AND 1/4 TSP. SALT. ADD 8 TBSP. OF COLD BUTTER, CUT INTO PIECES, TO THE FLOUR MIXTURE. CUT IN WITH PASTRY BLENDER UNTIL THE TEXTURE OF COURSE MEAL. IN SMALL BOWL, WHISK 1/4 C. SOUR CREAM AND 2 TSP. LEMON JUICE AND 1/4 C. ICE COLD WATER. ADD TO BUTTER FLOUR MIXTURE. MIX WITH BACK OF WOODEN SPOON TIL IT COMES TOGETHER. PAT INTO A BALL. STOP. DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH. COVER WITH PLASTIC WRAP AND REFRIGERATE 1 HOUR.
WHILE DOUGH IS RESTING IN FRIDGE, SLICE 1 LARGE OR 2 SMALL ZUCCHINI INTO 1/4 IN. ROUNDS. LAY OUT ON PAPER TOWELS AND SPRINKLE WITH SALT. LET DRAIN ON PAPER TOWELS FOR 30 MINUTES. MEANWHILE, MINCE ONE MEDIUM CLOVE OF GARLIC, ADD 1 TBSP. PLUS 1 TSP. OLIVE OIL TO GARLIC IN SMALL BOWL AND WHISK. SET ASIDE. IN SEPARATE BOWL MIX 1/2 C. RICOTTA CHEESE, 1/2 C. GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE, 1/4 C. SHREDDED MOZZARELLA CHEESE, AND 1 TSP. OF THE GARLICKY OLIVE OIL AND SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.
PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 400 DEGREES. ON FLOURED SURFACE, ROLL OUT CHILLED DOUGH TO 12 INCHES ROUND. TRANSFER TO UN GREASED BAKING SHEET. SPREAD RICOTTA MIXTURE EVENLY OVER BOTTOM OF GALETTE DOUGH, LEAVING 2 INCH BORDER. TIME FOR THE ZUCCHINI...ABSORB ALL LIQUID ON TOP OF ZUCCHINI ROUNDS WITH A PAPER TOWEL. OVERLAPPING ZUCCHINI ROUNDS, LAYER ZUCCHINI IN CONCENTRIC CIRCLES ALL THE WAY TO THE CENTER. TUCK EXTRA ZUCCHINI ROUNDS HERE AND THERE. DRIZZLE REMAINING GARLICKY OIL OVER ZUCCHINI. FOLD BORDER OVER FILLING, PLEATING THE EDGES TO MAKE IT FIT. THE CENTER OF THE GALETTE WILL BE OPEN. MAKE AN EGG WASH FOR THE EDGES OF THE CRUST BY BEATING ONE EGG YOLK WITH ONE TSP. OF WATER. THIS WILL CREATE A BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN COLORING ON THE CRUST. SPRINKLE TOP OF ZUCCHINI WITH SMALL HANDFUL SHREDDED PARMESAN. BAKE 30 - 40 MINUTES UNTIL FILLING IS PUFFED UP, ZUCCHINI IS SLIGHTLY WILTED AND PARMESAN IS GOLDEN. THE CRUST WILL BE A BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN BROWN. REMOVE FROM OVEN, COOL AND CUT INTO WEDGES.
ENJOY!