This savory free-form pie is surprisingly easy. Not surprisingly, it's delicious! The downside if you have very productive plants—it only uses two or three summer squash. Serves 6.
Pie Crust
Make your favorite pie crust recipe (without sugar), or used packaged if you must. I use Mark Bittman's pie crust recipe:
- 1-1/4 cups flour (5 oz.)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick/4 oz.)
- 3 Tablespoons ice water; a little more if needed
Combine flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Cut butter into 10-12 pieces and add into food processor. Blend briefly, until mixture resembles corn meal, about 10 seconds. You can add the ice-water into processor or into a cone of the mixture on the counter. If you use the food processor, blend in water about 10 seconds. Bring together in a ball on the counter. Place in plastic or wax bag and freeze for at at least 15 minutes or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can do all this ahead and leave in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for a couple of weeks.)
Roll out on a floured countertop to a 12-inch rough circle. Place on parchment paper and set aside.
The Galette
- 3 cups thinly sliced zucchini or summer squash (2-3 medium squash)
- Cheese filling:
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 shallot or 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 egg yolk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle zucchini lightly with salt. Let sit 15 minutes in a colander to drain. Lightly sauté to remove a little more moisture. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta and other ingredients for cheese filling. Place the rolled-out dough on its parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. Spread the cheese filling in the center of the dough, leaving a border of at least 1-1/2 inches without any filling. Top with the sliced squash rounds and drizzle with the two teaspoons of olive oil. Gently fold over the unfilled portion of the pastry dough over the outer ring of the filling, pleating as necessary, to create a free-form circle with an open middle. Lightly brush pastry edges with the egg yolk. Transfer to oven and bake 35–40 minutes until edges are golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This recipe is based on http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/564018579/lemony-ricotta-summer-squash-galette/