Zucchini… you never just have one from the garden. Zucchini bread… grilled… shaved in a salad….? This is a great way to use up ingredients on hand this time of year – onions, garlic and herbs. This crust is so easy to make so don’t let that part scare you. Make the dough ahead of time and double the recipe for next time.
Galette fresh from the oven
Individual Zucchini, Lemon, and Ricotta Galettes
Makes 6 galettes
Active Time: 30mins
Start to Finish: 2hrs (includes 30min fridge session and 45min cooking)
Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Filling:
5 2/3 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 1/3 pounds)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
handful fresh herbs, chopped (basil, mint, thyme…)
Preparation:
For crust:
Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until coarse meal forms. Add 4 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoonful at a time, stirring until dough forms moist clumps, and adding more water by teaspoonfuls as needed if dough is too dry. Form dough into 2 balls; flatten each into disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before rolling out.
For filling:
Place zucchini in colander set over large bowl. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let drain 30 minutes. Squeeze zucchini in kitchen towel to remove as much liquid as possible.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add zucchini and lemon juice; reduce heat to medium-low and cook until zucchini is tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Whisk ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan, egg, lemon peel, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and herbs in medium bowl. Stir in cooled zucchini mixture.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 6-inch-diameter plate, cut out 3 dough rounds (or if that sounds annoying, just cut 3 roundish squares from your dough, pinch the edges and it’ll be fine). Repeat with remaining dough. Place 3 dough rounds on each baking sheet.
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Spoon 1/2 cup filling into center of 1 dough round, leaving a bit of a border. Fold up border, pleating dough edges to create round pastry with some exposed filling in center. Repeat with remaining filling and dough rounds. Brush crusts with melted butter. Sprinkle galettes with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Bake galettes 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake until crust is golden and filling is set and begins to brown, about 25 minutes longer. Can be made 4 hours ahead.
Serve galettes hot or at room temperature.
Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 2008.
